Improving TCS-EW Teachers Awards

Thank you for celebrating and felicitating ƒš‹“Indiaƒšžs most innovative school teachersƒšž (EW February). Iƒšžm glad EducationWorld and Tata Consultancy Services collaborated to recognise the classroom innovations of primary and secondary school teachers who tend to get overshadowed by their counterparts in colleges and universities. However Iƒšžm surprised that none of the finalists were from government or rural schools. I wonder if you received any nominations at all from them and whether you accept nominations from vernacular medium schools. Teachers in rural schools are usually unfamiliar with English. Therefore you should consider publishing vernacular language translations of EducationWorld to spread your message. You could also perhaps introduce a new award for teachers of vernacular government schools. Also since you emphasised that Indiaƒšžs most innovative teachers should share best practices with the larger teachersƒšž community countrywide, it would have been helpful if your cover story had included e-mail addresses of the finalists of the TCS-EW Teachers Awards 2007. This would have enabled other teachers to interact with them, learn from their innovations and make the formative learning years of students enjoyable and interesting. Saroja ShettyBangaloreOverly critical Your special report ƒš‹“Red shadow over West Bengal academiaƒšž (EW February) is too critical of 30 years of uninterrupted rule by the CPM-led Left Front government which has provided political stability to West Bengal. Moreover the CPM is far from a dogmatic communist party as implied by you, as it has welcomed private sector companies to create jobs for students of Kolkata colleges, many of whom are placed even before they finish their courses. Software giants like Microsoft, Cisco, Wipro and TCS flock to colleges in Kolkata to recruit engineering students. Surely this is proof that the quality of education provided is good, if not excellent.Your special report feature also paints a bleak picture of the rural education scenario in Bengal. I canƒšžt disagree with the statistical data provided by you. But isnƒšžt it the same story in every other state of India? Arenƒšžt all government schools in rural India lacking in infrastructure and providing poor quality education? There is also a factual error in your story. The author states that placement services were not provided in Jadavpur University at the end of the academic year 2007. This is totally wrong as students of the engineering faculty who graduated in 2007, were pre-placed by February 2007, and those who will graduate in 2008 have already been placed.Sumati GhoshKolkataCalculated neglectYour special report ƒš‹“Red shadow over West Bengal academiaƒšž (EW February) made depressing reading. Itƒšžs indeed sad how the education system in West Bengal ƒš‚ the birthplace of some of the countryƒšžs top intellectuals and social reformers ƒš‚ has been run into the ground by the CPM-led Left Front government during the past 30 years. As Minu Dasgupta, the author of the feature, correctly points out communist governments usually give primary and secondary education top priority. Quite clearly the CPM leadership has deliberately neglected the public education system in rural Bengal because uneducated people are much easier targets for brainwashing and bullying by party cadres, than educated citizens. The flight of educated Bengalis will continue unless the state government makes a determined effort to respect academic autonomy in the stateƒšžs colleges and universities. A first step as Dasgupta suggests, is to grant autonomy to the venerated Presidency College.Iqbal KhanDelhiReal Nano benefitWith reference to the editorial ƒš‹“Nano lesson: Pricing should drive productionƒšž (EW February), the Tata Nano is undoubtedly the cheapest car in the world, which is a matter of pride for Tata Motors and all Indians. However, despite its rock-bottom price, it is still a middle class car as poor Indians still cannot buy and run it. The real benefit of the Tata Nano is in its future potential ƒš‚ to replace auto rickshaws in Indiaƒšžs heavily polluted metros and other cities. Its price, low running cost and lower carbon emissions compared to auto-rickshaws, and the fact that it can easily transport four passengers (against three in an auto-rickshaw), could make it ideal for intra-city travel.Mahesh KapasiDelhiKudos to GidwaniI am a class X student. I have been reading EducationWorld for the past two years and find the Career Focus and Your Counsellor Replies sections very informative and useful. Kudos to Indra Gidwani for her unusual and appealing choice of career options. The insights provided by successful professionals in each career, distinguish your column from others. Iƒšžm glad the author doesnƒšžt stop at merely listing eligibility requirements and professional institutions. The career advice relating to architecture in your latest issue was particularly enlightening. Iƒšžd no idea that an architecture study programme requires students to write a national entrance test. Iƒšžd assumed one could qualify via the Common Entrance Test for engineering studies. The interview with one of Mumbaiƒšžs top-notch architects Shrikant Sathe, was excellent.Sunil DesaiMumbai