It’s been more than a month that tomato prices have been rising and have crossed many peaks amidst the shortage of tomatoes in the market. Social media has been abuzz with memes, reels, shorts and videos, expressing anguish and taking potshots at the government.
However, far and beyond the headline-making commodities, parents are experiencing difficult times in providing for their children’s education. The mid-day meal has been a blessing in disguise and therefore atleast one factor is taken care of for those who are unable to fulfill the many demands of their wards. Parents have been under pressure even before the academic year could begin to provide for their children’s education despite the Right to Education Act which envisages free and compulsory education in all government and government-aided institutions. Right from uniforms, textbooks and notebooks, to different types of attires which include specific colour-coded uniforms to connote a group (House), depending upon the subject a uniform for being a scout or guide or a Junior Red Cross volunteer and along with it the shoes, an umbrella or a raincoat, all part of the schooling process, the burden is on parents.
One may point out that this is the norm and has been in practice for a long and in some ways is certainly a responsibility that parents have to shoulder once a child is born. Nevertheless, post the Covid-19 pandemic, lives of a large section of the society have been thrown off track and the continuing inflation has led to distress. No wonder the Centre has been providing more than 80 crore people in the country with daily essential commodities through the fair price shops at discounted rates to help the economic affairs of households.
O Heraldo on Wednesday published a photograph of students risking their lives by clinging onto a goods carrier rickshaw in Margao to get back home after school in the absence of Balrath buses. Drivers and attendants of Balrath services were on strike demanding a pay hike, which has been called off on Wednesday afternoon after receiving assurances from the Chief Minister to increase the remunerations. The appalling image of the children resonates with the desperation of many underprivileged students whose parents can’t afford to pay for the daily commute of their children by the local buses. The Balrath bus service which was launched to cater to a specific section of students in the school has become a boon to these students, with most of the Balrath buses running on the roads jam-packed.
The government has allocated a little over 8% of the 2023-24 budget for school education, of which a majority of the fund goes into paying the salaries of teachers. However, over the years the actual expenditures have always been lesser than the budget estimates and the government should therefore think about providing books including notebooks to students, especially to those from the economically weaker section.
On the other hand, teachers should try to reduce the burden on parents by demanding as little as possible in terms of the accessories needed for a subject. Most parents find it difficult to provide the materials in the form of printouts and accessories for assignments that the students have to submit which carry a weightage of marks, and children often pressurise parents to fulfill their demands. Parents face a tough time, especially in June and July as the academic year begins, and are often forced to seek loans mostly at very high-interest rates from money lenders. An easier way to ensure that the lessons are learned and the students are also not burdened would be to assign group tasks, which would decrease the financial implications on the parents.
The growing underemployment alongside the high unemployment rates in the State calls for urgent attention of all the stakeholders of the education sector, beginning with the government. While income levels have dropped, inflation is adding to the woes of the people, and while combating all the problems, education should be the last casualty in a family.
