Our Quest Magazine Issue1

OUR QUEST CONTENTS1. CHAIRMAN'S NOTE2. COVER STORY3. FOCUS4. INSIGHT5. EVENTS COVERAGE6. RESEARCH STORY7. SPECIALS8. CARTOON9. FROM THEIR EYES10. OPINIONATED11. STQ IN NEWS

OUR QUEST OUR QUEST TEAM• SAIF AHMAD KHAN : MANAGING DIRECTOR• MARTAND JHA : EDITOR IN CHIEF• ARUSHI SRIVASTAVA: EDITOR• AYUSH KUMAR SINGH: GRAPHIC DESIGNER• AKSHAY KUMAR SINGH: REVIEW CRITIC• ANGELA SHARMA: PUBLIC RELATIONS• VEER BERRY: PUBLIC RELATIONS• KSHITIJ SHARMA: GUEST WRITER/ TRUSTEE STQ• PURVA NAGPAL: GUEST WRITER/ TRUSTEE STQ• ARITRO SAHA:COVER PAGE DESIGNER• ANSHUL GUPTA: PUBLISHER• NEYAZ KHALID NOOR: TREASURER

OUR QUESTCHAIRMAN'S NOTEThe idea of running an NGO feeling to be able to read boards exams I started any trustee , when I gotwas never in my mind. I al- what you like, no pressure of teaching them trustee I didn’t had money,ways wanted to serve the completing syllabus or sub- I got admission in Univer- when I got everything I did-people in need and bring mitting an assignment on sity of Delhi, I thought that n’t had any office address ,positive revolutionary time and fear of examina- in college things might somehow I procured every-changes in the society. The tion. I enjoyed quenching change, and still the educa- thing required for getting itcult to do social work em- my thirst for knowledge and tion system did not meet my registered . It took me twoanated long back in my early it was beautiful indeed. expectation. I got bored of years to get ‘SAVE THEchildhood. I was in class Meanwhile I left my city and the dictation classes and the QUEST’ registered, meanVIth when I started working joined a hotel as a tourist conventional ways of teach- while I kept on working andwith some NGO in my home guide; there I experienced a ing things. Finally I decided involving people into STQtown. Though my work was lot of things meeting new to do something to bring a team. I always believed innot that big, I did what I people. But I always had this change, and the idea of start- work and focused on opti-could do, I used to paste the innate feeling of contribut- ing an NGO stuck to me. I mizing our influence. Myposters of the NGO I was as- ing something noble to this started a survey called per- plans are to expand and es-sociated with on the poles world, of working to bring ception towards education, tablish save the quest in alland wall around my colony. change that will banish all to find more students look- over India in the upcoming 5It was fun for me at that time the pain from this world. ing for change in the system. year and in all over world inand soon it turned into a pas- With time I was compelled I knew this world needs an next 5 years after establish-sion. The passion and empa- to get into conventional ed- ideological change, what we ing in India. I have alwaysthy to serve kept on ucation, I did my secondary are and how we live and be- dreamed of bringing a revo-growing. I was lucky to education with self study have is product of the educa- lution through educationstudy in a school where ed- and somehow I procured tion we get. When I say through SAVE THEucation was not presented as good marks and admission education it’s not only edu- QUEST. This world needsit is presented in conven- in a Delhi school. I was not cation we get in school. I an ideological revolution, ational schools. I was perpet- comfortable with conven- discussed it with many peo- revolution which will bringually unsatisfied with the tional education, the way ple; all of them agreed with positive social reform andconventional education but things were taught, and the the ideology and wanted bring all those revolutionarythe importance and power of pressure as students we change in the education sys- things in practice which areeducation was always there faced in school. tem. Unfortunately none of only on paper and discussed.in my mind. I always pro- In my school days I decided them tuned up. Many of I dream of a world with nofessed philosophy of liberal, that I will change the educa- them criticized me and said division, and which givesflexible and holistic educa- tion and would never let the I am wasting time. Nothing freedom of thought, life, ed-tion. I left school but not coming generation face the is going to happen. ucation for everyone one onstudying, I used to read what problems I faced in school. I I started it with a Facebook this earth.interested me; it is a great always studied what inter- page; I could never leave the , I would be lucky to observe ested me most, but I studied visually impaired and de- the above change in my life. just before exams. During prived section as I have been I don’t know how long it the same time I got a chance working them for so long. will take, May 40 years or a to scribe an exam for the vi- Then I started looking for century after I die or even sually impaired students, it people and knowledge for more. But the change has to felt great that is the kind of getting my NGO registered. come for the survival of this opportunity I was always it was mind boggling healthy earth and life on this looking for. After that I fre- process , first I didn’t knew planet. As we know no one quently started scribing where it get it register then more than a man has killed exam for visually impaired when I got all the required man on this earth. students. Later on after my information , I didn’t had Long live revolution.

OUR QUESTCOVER STORYENABLING JUDGMENT BY: MARTAND JHARecently Supreme Court of Full Participation) Act, 1995 two countries in terms of gory can be differently able,India delivered a remarkable their governance towards infact anyone, be it rich orjudgment by directing the India is the country with the disabled population can't be poor can suffer from disabil-Centre and all the State gov- highest number of disabled compared. ity. This physical disadvan-ernments to ensure that per- population but still the gov- tage of being 'different' fromson with disabilities must be ernment seems to have Many cases of discrimination the 'normal' population sepa-appointed for all categories turned a blind eye towards have come up against dis- rates this population from theof job in State and Central this category as they are not abled people, be it small chil- mainstream society rightGovernment run establish- perceived as potential voters dren in schools, adolescents, from the birth of a disabledments, Public Sector Under- who can change the fate of young people or old. Cases infant because throughouttakings (PSUs) and other electoral politics even if they are worse when a girl or a their life, these people are ei-government funded compa- decide to do so. None of the woman is differently able, as ther shown sympathy or arenies if the candidate has political parties have specific the gender problems add to humiliated and discriminatedqualified for the job. agendas in their election the disability problem. Mil- all through their lives. manifestos for these people. lions of discrimination andEarlier differently able per- The root cause of all the bullying cases against these Until now, reservations forsons used to face difficulties problems related to the dis- people go unreported. It’s an persons with disabilitiesin aspiring for higher admin- abled population comes from established reality that most were made only in groups Cistrative jobs within their or- the conservative mindset of of the differently able popu- and D, which involve physi-ganizations on the grounds of Indian Society which per- lation is living in an utter cal labor. The recent judg-their disability as it was be- ceives this population as a li- state of poverty. Even if ment by Supreme Courtlieved by different sections ability which society has to someone cracks examina- pertains to a petition filed byof policy makers that these carry on their shoulders, tions to get a job or a seat in the National Federation ofpeople would not be able to though unwillingly. prestigious college, it is said the Blind in the Delhi Highperform their duties as re- that the person has not Court in 2006. The federa-quired from them. This Dictators like Hitler tried to achieved that due to his cal- tion alleged continued dis-mindset made many deserv- eliminate whole of the dis- iber but due to reservation of crimination against personsing candidates from this cat- abled population as accord- seats for them. Questions with disabilities in filling upegory suffer from frustration. ing to him, these people were must be asked that whether vacancies in government de- not productive, which means this reservation is the same partments.The government, for its part, they have nothing to give to as reservation to SC, ST andsaid there was an office the society. So, these people OBC categories. In all, this Supreme Courtmemorandum issued by the were officially considered judgment brings a fresh air indepartment of personnel and useless in Nazi Germany. Certainly not, because reser- the lives of many disabledtraining, which provides for Though, Indian Government vation for disabled popula- persons who aspire to be-a system to ensure proper im- is comparatively much better tion comes under vertical come somebody in theirplementation of the provi- from Nazi Germany but it reservation while other re- lives. All these people wantsions of the Persons with has to be kept in mind that served categories come is some support from society;Disability (Equal Opportuni- India boasts of being the under horizontal reservation. the rest is that they can man-ties, Protection of Rights and world's largest democracy. Vertical reservation implies age themselves. So, keeping that in mind, the that people from any cate-

OUR QUESTFOCUSWHAT IT TAKES TO BE EDUCATED IN A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY? BY: AARUSHIFor millions of students in the third a sight of disgust when we find UNESCO monitors the progress onworld countries, sitting in the them working on family or the lines of World Education Fairclassroom and learning the laws of neighborhood farms or with small heldmathematics and science is noth- enterprises with meager income. at Dakar in 2000. The second anding but a third Millennium Developmentdream till date. Education for All, a Another big threat is that some Goalsprogram aimed at promoting free countries do not believe in educat- (MDGs) (universal primary educa-and universal education in devel- ing tion, gender equality) have a directoping countries was initiated by girls. Traditional role patterns stop bearing on the education sector.UNESCO not long back. It has dra- parents in enrolling the girl Education is also a prerequisite formatically increased enrolments but child for education. In the Middle achieving the other MDGs, for in-still we see more than 75 million East, South and West Asia we see stance reducing by half the numberchildren not even able to attend wide gender disparities due to the ofprimary school. To achieve this cultural preference for boys. people living in poverty (MDG 1)goal, today U.N is facing myriad Moreover many children are pre- and environmental sustainabilitythreats that may endanger the out- vented to go to school on account (MDGcome. In contrast to the developed of 7).countries, the third world countries wars. We have seen civil wars rag-are looming with many hurdles to ing in many third world countries Today, education is recognized asreach the goal of ‘Education for and a public good. The internationalAll’. apparently that has become a rea- community agrees that human de- son for the children to pick up the velopment is impossible withoutOne of the biggest threats is lack guns instead of books and pens. education. Promoting educationof funds and absence of vocational has therefore been made one ofeducation. There is a dire need for The U.N along with the interna- the keyproper infrastructure to provide tional community has certainly tried objectives of international develop-classrooms, colleges, and books to ment. The EFA goals and MDGsfor students. The curriculum for fill up the gaps and try to provide areeducation in these countries is universal free access to complementary: as Irina Bokova,often based on traditional model education. ‘Education for All’ and UNESCO’s Director-General, says:and ‘Framework for Education’ were “Whenthere are no higher levels of some you fund education, you are secur-schooling and professional job of the benchmarks in the U.N’s ef- ing progress towards all theopportunities waiting for these chil- forts to promote universal educa- Millennium Development Goals”.dren. Therefore it seldom becomes tion.

OUR QUESTINSIGHTCHALLENGES OF AFFORDABILITY,ACCESSIBILITY AND ACHIEVEMENT IN A TODAYS INDIA BY: KSHITIJIn a culturally and linguistically diverse coun- the parents to send the child to school? The af- the State Government coffers. So the state istry like India, a centralised solution to tackle fordability of the not so apparent opportunity bound by the Centre to follow a solution whichthe growing challenges of Affordability, Acces- cost comes into play. Even if you make educa- might not work in the State's best interest. asibility and Achievement with a one size fits tion free would a farmer send the child to The amount that the union government forcesall perspective makes little sense. school if he lacks a pair of hands in the field? the States to spend on scale could be spent in,Provisioning of basic facilities like toilets and Can he afford to do so? Mid day meals in for example, provisioning vouchers for the tar-water are a contributing in getting the students schools have worked really well in checking get recipients on a local level.into schools. ASER 2012 (Rural) Findings re- this kind of absenteeism from schools. The As an instance, the independence of theport of 2012 on the status of Education in India same ASER report pegs the number of schools schools which when kept in check by the par-tells us that the basic facilities like water, toi- serving mid day meals at 87.1 %. Extrapolated, ents themselves forming School Managementlets show an improvement with 73 % of the the rest 12.9% is a large number on an all India Committees rather than the government makes14951 schools visited during the survey had level. for a good generic framework/model which isdrinking water facilities available and the num- centrally mandated by the government in theber of schools with usable toilets increased The study of Rupon Basumatary also mentions RTE Act but this has to go hand in hand withfrom 47.2% in the 2010 version of ASER sur- that poor quality education is another impor- overall economic development as for parentsvey to 56.5% in 2012. But apart from the basic tant cause of school dropout. Though it is only struggling with poverty, keeping in check thefacilities being put in order there is a case to be after passing the hurdles posed by the Access- doings of the school is an extra overhead andmade that to improve the access to education ability and Affordability of education, a student can be a heavy burden for them. But this nu-there can't be a nationwide uniform model. would be affected by the quality of what he or ance has to be flexibly managed at the localThere is a customization at the level where the she is taught and if his or her achievement is level with the right incentives by providingneeds of the consumer (the students, in this measured in education by (i) clearing the stan- some compensation to the School Managementcase) are understood and met. So if a village in dardised baseline exams, (ii) job attainment committee members.Gujarat receives 24 hour electricity, there is an and (iii) supporting one’s family, then this has Also if the government provisions publicopportunity to introduce e-learning to make ed- to be measured and improved by taking a more goods such roads and electricity, it empowersucation accessible, similarly to promote female skill based approach while designing the cur- the citizen to take up education mode of hisparticipation in far flung school in Bihar, pro- riculum. choice. Technology allows innovative solu-viding bi-cycles to girls makes access easy for As anyone who cares to look closely, one can’t tions and can be used to serve customizedthem. have a centralized solution in aiming for Ac- needs but rather than focusing on providing forThe sustained high number of enrollments at cessability, Achievement as well as Affordabil- that technology the government would do wellmore than 96 % in the age group of 6-14 since ity. The choice of the student is stifled by well to create the environment where that techno-last 4 year goes hand in hand with a slight in- intentioned but hardly thought out government logical boom can help reach every remote partcrease in percentage of students not enrolled in intervention which compromises on quality of of India on its own (through the market). Alsoschools. From 3.3% in 2011 to 3.5 % in 2012. education when it aspires for scale. In the first the price control of the teacher’s pay can beIn International Research Journal of Social Sci- anniversary report of the RTE Act, the funds deregulated to incentivise teaching profession.ences's “School Dropout across Indian States sanctioned were to be shared by the Central There are many government schools in Indiaand UTs: An Econometric Study” of 2012, and State Governments and amounted to Rs. where a lot of good practices are making theseRupon Basumatary gives the factors which 231,233 crores over the period of 5 years. schools bloom but one must understand thatlead to students dropping out, which would While the second anniversary report stated that what might work in a govt school in a city, forsomehwat explain the slight rise of number of the amount spent by the union government in- example, would not necessarily be a sure shotunenrolled students. According to his study, creased from Rs 13,100 crore in 2009-10 to Rs mantra of success for a school in a village.poverty remains one of the main determinants 25,555 crore in 2012-13. What this goes toof school dropout. One of the first things that show is that to implement a central schemewe learn in Economics is that human beings re- which aims to address the state of education, aspond to incentives. What is the incentive for major chunk of the funding has to come from

OUR QUESTEVENTS COVERAGEWHITE CANE DAY WALK BY: ANGELA SHARMAOn 15th October, 2013, volun- endeavor by tying blind fold on I walked on the road, pathways,teers and participants started their eyes. Megha, one of our par- over speed breakers, each andpouring in from 9 am to chip in an ticipants recalls, “I was very every stone in my way, which Ievent organized by Save The scared at the beginning when I don’t usually realize.”Quest. was blind folded. It was very, very Ashwani, a visually impaired stu-The event, White Cane Day Walk scary as the only color I could see dent said, “I appreciate what youwas held to celebrate White Cane was black. I felt so handicapped, (Save The Quest) did today. WeDay, a day which is held every so suffocated. I can trust people enjoyed this walk a lot and I feelyear since the year 1964 to sup- more now (thanks to my volun- happy that all participants were soport and buoy up visually impaired teer). I respect every part of my thrilled to be a part of the walk. Itindividuals all over the world. body more because I came to served as a platform on which weStudents actively filled up registra- know that you are paralyzed when all could communicate equally.”tion forms, put on participation a single part of body doesn’t func-stickers and helped our volunteers tion properly.” One more partici-in preparing for the Walk. They pant, Priya describes herhelped us by putting up posters experience- “By putting folds onand arrows to spread the word my eyes, and becoming blind toabout our walk. experience what actually visually-The walk started at 10.30 am with impaired people feel, I observeda throng of 150 people and 60 po- many things, like, though my eyeslicemen. We proceeded towards were covered, I could realize thatFaculty of Law and Arts and went it was day. I could feel the heat ofon to Ramjas College, where a the sun, the sun rays, and thecouple of students joined us. Then light. I felt each and every step aswe went towards Sri Ram Collegeof Commerce and turned back.We reached Kirori Mal College at11.30. The giving out of certifi-cates took another 30 minutesand after this we all went back to-wards our daily lives with a newand different outlook towards sightand capabilities of different peopleand their different abilities.There were visually-impaired stu-dents of Kirori Mal College in thewalk. Some of our sighted partici-pants also decided to explore this

OUR QUESTRESEARCH STORYSEMESTER SYSTEM IN HARYANA BY: SIRAJ KHANWhile penning down the ‘Fore- really bad. Imagine the plight of outcomes. In 2011, the Board of in the education system. “Withword’ for the implementation of students who go into depression School of School Education the successful implementation ofSemester system in Haryana, The when they learn they have scored Haryana did another experiment semester system, the Educationthen chairman of Board of School less percentage than expected. and issued a notification which Board has become over- confi-Education, R.S. Gujral wrote that The new system would phase out stated that no exams shall be con- dent and tries new experimentsthis initiative is a “significant step all such things. Under the new ducted by the schools till 8th stan- every other day. This attitude hastowards improvement in Educa- grading system, there would be a dard and students shall be almost ruined the education sys-tion Set up in Haryana”. The need fair evaluation of students”. Thus promoted to the next standard on tem in Haryana and the recentwas felt to improve the education the Education board implemented the basis of unit tests, attendance exams result is an evidence ofset up after the pathetic results the system, claiming to be the marks etc. in the same notifica- that,” Mr. Sheoran added. Theirked the eyes of critiques and the first Board in the country to do so. tion it was made mandatory for survey further hits at the appallingEducation Department in In the coming year, the result per- the schools to promote every stu- education system, saying overHaryana found itself on the re- centage of both the secondary and dent to the next class despite per- 57% of Class V students were notceiving end. According to an Ed- senior secondary examinations forming bad in the unit tests. The able to solve simple questions ofucation portal, Studentvoice.in, registered a significant rise and whole idea, as claimed by the mathematics in comparison tothe overall result of senior sec- grew up to 67.74% and 68.57% in Board Officials, was to reduce the around 42% such students, twoondary examination in Haryana comparison to the previous year’s school dropout rate and encour- years ago.was 49.40% in the 2005-06 aca- 56.89% and 49.40% respectively. age the teenagers towards educa- The decline in learning levels isdemic sessions, which was quite This significant rise in the num- tion. But the experiment was more severe in governmentembarrassing for the Education ber of qualified students moti- carried out without considering schools where over 75% of ClassBoard who claims to give quality vated the Education Board to the pros and cons and it led to the V students were not able to solveeducation in comparison with its continue with this pattern in the declining of educational capabil- a division arithmetic involving acompetitors. Considering the de- coming years. In the next aca- ities and competencies of the stu- three-digit and a single digit num-clining results and education stan- demic session, the results further dents and thus declining ber during the survey in 2012.dard, the Board of School improved to 75.30% for the sen- education standards in Haryana. The number of such students wasEducation Haryana (BSEH) went ior secondary examination and Students got promoted to higher just 50% two years ago. Addingfor a ‘Gamble’ and introduced the 79.94% for the secondary exami- standards despite scoring poor to the worry of Education Dept,‘Semester System’ in Haryana. nation. The board officials con- marks in unit tests. The Annual the overall result of the 2012-13The new system was imple- gratulated themselves for the Status of Education Report sessions dived to 59.34% and setmented in a bid to “reduce stress initiation of this system. In the (ASER) 2012 revealed that the many tongues wagging. Despiteamong students and to improve next academic session, the pass- level of education in the rural the declining standards of educa-the standard of Education in ing percentage gained another areas of Haryana has gone down tion in Haryana and diving re-Haryana”. The previous results of height with 92.98% for senior in 2 years after the implementa- sults, the Education Board tooksecondary and senior secondary secondary exams and 84.43% for tion of this plan. The report re- no lessons and came up with an-examinations were not satisfying secondary exams. The significant vealed that over 40% students of other experiment in which itfor anyone, so the move for the boost in the percentage of results Class V in government as well asked the schools authorities tonew system got appreciation and gave the Board, confidence as private schools were not able to conduct the secondary and seniorapproval from both the Chief well as arrogance. read from textbooks of even Class secondary class Examinations inMinister Bhupinder Singh Hooda Everything was alright till the II. The revelation of this survey the same school premises, in aand the then education minister time the examinations were tak- came as a setback for the Educa- very recent development. WhenPhool Chand Mullana. In 2006, ing place and the results were also tion board who was hoping for contacted upon, the Board Offi-with the implementation of this improving under this system. But positive results. Hitting out at the cials denied to speak on-the-System, the academic year was the successful implementation of Education Department for the record but accepted that the levelbroken into two parts- First and the system gave the Board offi- daily-new experiments in the ed- of education in Haryana has gonesecond semester and the syllabus cials, two things- confidence and ucation system, the Elementary down rapidly and these are thewas also divided accordingly, to arrogance. Confidence -to intro- Principle of Jui School, Daya Kis- consequences of the Educationmake the concerned stake holders duce a new system in education han Sheoran said that the educa- Board Policies.i.e. (students, teachers) stress free. and yield better result and arro- tion board is adamant to ruin theFurther appreciating the move, gance- to do everyday experi- education system in Haryana withGujral added, \"The word 'fail' is ments and not care about the the every other day experiments

OUR QUESTSPECIALSA LIBERAL POLICY POSITION ON HIGHER EDUCATION BY SANJEEV SABHLOKLiberals generally agree that a with their shares traded on the and books. This low interest rate ers on their school education.government has little justification stock market. With that, the tax loan (at a rate about one per cent Such a bank guarantee would beto deal with matters beyond its revenues saved from higher edu- higher than the variable Reserve forfeited should they fail to return(first-order) core functions of de- cation could be diverted to the Bank rate to meet transaction within a stipulated time. Student’sfense, police and justice. How- maintenance of law and order and costs) would be repayable over, not carrying proof of such a guar-ever, most liberals do make a provision of good school educa- say, 15 years. Repayment would antee would be turned back at theprovision for a government to tion: areas which are in de- be through the income tax system immigration check. Of course,provide infrastructure and reason- plorable condition in India today. after the concerned student gets a this will require linking the loanable equal opportunity (second- But selling off IITs, IIMs, medical job and starts earning an amount system with the tax and immigra-order core functions), subject to colleges and other government- greater than, say, three times the tion systems through a well-orga-the government doing only to the owned tertiary institutes (includ- poverty line. nized national ID and database.minimal extent necessary to ing vocational) does not mean As a result, all meritorious stu- Common objections to such aachieve basic objectives in these de-regulation. Apart from accred- dents in India could easily pursue systemareas. itation to prevent fraud, some higher education and repay the Won’t this system lead to astro-If we agree that these areas estab- steps must be taken to assure fees when they start earning a suf- nomical fee levels? No, becauselish the boundaries of the role of standards (but not to set standards ficient income. Much of this can of competition in the sector. Stu-a government, then there is no – a task that must be left to the be outsourced to the private sec- dents will generally prefer qualityscope for government funding of sector to resolve). Such accred- tor, and private competition in the education at the lowest possiblehigher education, apart from reg- ited tertiary education institutions loans market can be encouraged, cost, forcing the fees down. Evenulating the sector to prevent would have full operational inde- thus ultimately allowing the gov- the best universities will need tofraud. Indeed, tertiary education pendence, with the ability to set ernment to exit this area com- attract high quality students to re-institutions are fishing nets to their own salary and scholarship pletely. tain their reputation, and they will‘catch’ the societies most tal- structures to attract distinguished Preventing non-repayment of have to bid for them through dis-ented. Students attending these academics and talented students. loans counts. Will the liberal arts beinstitutions will, almost invari- They would set their own fees What if upon completing their ousted from the teaching agendaably, become wealthier than the and determine the type, quality studies some students leave India in this free market? Not really.average taxpayer. Subsidizing and mix of courses to offer. As a permanently, not repaying the Good private sector corporationsthem would amount to deliber- result, only that much higher ed- loan? (In a way this has already recognize the commercial valueately increasing inequality in so- ucation will be provided as the happened with engineering and of a liberal education. Arts grad-ciety. And there are no natural market needs and is willing to medical students who have sim- uates often do better in modernrights for anyone to be provided bear. ply left India. A comparable edu- businesses than technical gradu-higher education by the state, just What about meritorious but cation in USA would have cost ates because innovation, entrepre-as no one can demand that every poor students? $100,000 at least). The way out of neurship, leadership, peopletennis player should be given an The issue of funding poor, meri- this would be two fold. One, management and strategic think-‘equal opportunity’ to play in the torious students to attend these agreements could be made with ing have little to do with technicalWimbledon. courses can be easily managed on countries with similar schemes, to skills. Therefore the market won’tPrivatisation, but good regula- the pattern of the HECS scheme ensure that these educational kill off philosophy, noting thattion in Australia (noting that HECS loans are repaid. there will be increasing opportu-The government must therefore has imperfections that will need At the least, a system to monitor nities for philanthropists to fundcompletely exit higher education. to be overcome). Under this departing students can be estab- such disciplines.Institutions owned by govern- model, any Indian citizen admit- lished whereby students leaving I believe that if such a system isment should be sold off broadly ted to an accredited institution India even temporarily would implemented, India will get aton the pattern of school privatisa- could apply for and get a low in- need to furnish a bank guarantee least a hundred universities of thetion discussed in the July 2009 terest loan from the government equivalent to the amount of their standard of Harvard University inissue of Freedom First, and con- for an amount sufficient to pay outstanding loan plus the present a few decades.verted into for-profit corporations their fees as well as cost of living value of costs incurred by taxpay-

OUR QUESTSPECIALSSMINU JINDAL- WOMAN OF STEEL!An accident at the innocent age of But Sminu Jindal did not give up ing towards providing independ-11, when one may not even know at it. It was indeed just the begin- ence and dignity to people with re-the meaning of the term “para- ning of the making of a ‘woman of duced mobility, Sminu gives out aplegic”, a whole lifetime which steel’ who did not let her accident, simple message- “What makesneeds to be replanted conse- her disability, her gender, or the a person special is her work, herquently, and being a female. Did factor of already belonging to a compassion and not her condi-all this stop her, or confine her rich family come in between her tion.”spirits? No. and her determination towardsIt has on the contrary, added success and accomplishment. Also been appointed as Chairper-wheels to Sminu Jindal’s determi- It is natural to get inspired by her, son of ARUNIM (Association fornation, to take her life on. Yes, since Sminu Jindal is an extraordi- Rehabilitation under Nationalhow can Sminu Jindal, the Manag- nary and incomparable example of Trust Initiative of Marketing) anding Director of Jindal SAW Ltd. be driving force that does not restrict nominated as member of the Gov-expected to be made of anything her in any walk of life just because erning Council of National Insti-less than steel? she once had an accident and now tute of Physically Handicapped byWell, the mishap occurred while she is a part of the world of “dis- Ministry of Social Justice and Em-she was returning to Delhi from abled”. powerment, Government of India,her school, Maharani Gayatri Devi Sminu Jindal believes that growthGirls’ School in Jaipur. Her car It might be her survival spirit, but is possible when you includemet with a terrible accident in Sminu Jindal is truly more than everybody; everyone whetherwhich she lost movement of her just that. She is the first lady en- able-bodied or mobility chal-lower body. She was fortunate to trant in the country to do her gen- lenged, should be treated with dig-survive but sustained a severe der proud by breaking the glass nity and given equal opportunities.spinal cord injury and brain hem- ceiling in the steel, oil and gas sec- Her undivided devotion and perse-orrhage. The spinal injury left the tor in India. Ever since she has verance to the cause has not onlylower half of her body paralyzed. been appointed as the Managing given it the right momentum butShe was then just a young child of Director of Jindal SAW Ltd, a part also influenced policymakers toeleven in class six. Waking up to of the fourth largest industrial incorporate measures to meet thesuch tragic but now-reality of her house in India, the Jindal Group, intensifying demands of 'inclusiv-whole impending lifetime in front Sminu’s contribution to the growth ity for all'.of them, anyone would shedder to of the organization has been phe-think that it would no longer re- nomenal.main the playful carefree and ‘nor- And being the founder of Svayammal’ life like everyone else. – an initiative that has been work-

OUR QUESTCARTOON BY: PRERNA

OUR QUESTFROM THEIR EYESTHE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION: AN ECONOMICS VIEWIt's not headline news that educational at- school diploma who currently are institu- both individuals and society.\"tainment is highly correlated with income: tionalized is nearly three times higher than Improving K-12 education in the UnitedCollege graduates typically earn more than 40 years ago, while the number of institu- States is therefore imperative to building aless-educated Americans. What is often less tionalized college graduates has not foundation for broad-based economicdiscussed is that education is significantly changed. For Americans ages 25 to 64, the growth. New economic evidence points tolinked to many other outcomes in life, in- vast majority of the institutionalized are in a variety of promising approaches, none ofcluding whether a person will get married prison, indicating a dramatic divergence in which is a silver bullet, but each of whichand his or her life expectancy. More dis- incarceration rates between those with can help pave the way toward a broader so-turbingly, the gap between more- and less- more and less education. An adult without lution. Policymakers should look to tar-educated Americans is getting bigger—in a high school diploma is also almost 20 geted practices in successful chartersome cases, much bigger. times more likely than a college graduate schools, which have shown dramatic im-The Hamilton Project, an economic-policy to receive welfare, and about eight times provements in student achievement andgroup at the Brookings Institution, released more likely to be unable to work because could provide lessons for the broader edu-a paper in September titled \"A Dozen Eco- of a disability. cation community.nomic Facts About K-12 Education\" to help Throughout the past several decades, U.S. Small-scale interventions also present op-illustrate the growing importance of educa- college-graduation rates have plateaued, portunities for raising student achievementtion on Americans' wellbeing. We found while rates in the rest of the world have in- through cost-effective organizationalthat although the benefits of education have creased. And so, while older Americans are changes. Such interventions as later startingincreased over time, measures of educa- among the most educated in the world, times and after-school enrichment pro-tional attainment and achievement have young American workers now rank 15th in grams can be effective methods for better-stagnated, meaning that many of our na- college-completion rates compared with ing student outcomes. And, focusing on thetion's young people are not receiving the their peers in other countries in the Organ- basics, there is clear evidence that greatskills they need to thrive in the modern ization for Economic Cooperation and De- teachers have a strong impact on students.economy. velopment. In fact, being taught by a better teacher forThe project's findings focus on three key Our failure to increase Americans' educa- just one year can increase a student's life-areas: the disparity in outcomes between tion levels has also translated into declining time earnings and probability of attendingmore-educated and less-educated Ameri- wages for many Americans. For example, college.cans; weaknesses in America's K-12 educa- the annual earnings of the median man intion system; and several promising the United States have declined by roughly A strong education system has been theinterventions that could serve as a starting 19 percent over the last four decades. Fur- backbone of the American Dream—provid-point for education reform. ther, although the median two-parent Amer- ing each generation with the opportunity toBy exploring the gap in outcomes between ican family saw earnings increase 23 do better than the last. Indeed, our countrymore-educated and less-educated Ameri- percent between 1975 and 2009, this was was built on improvements in education.cans, we see how improving education can only because of longer work weeks as total Over the last three or four decades, how-benefit both individuals and society. Data hours worked jumped 26 percent. ever, test scores have stagnated, as haveshow that Americans who do not graduate Additionally, a growing gap in achievement rates of high school and college comple-from high school earn less and are much among students is resulting in a society tion. The consequences of this can be seenless likely to have jobs than their more-ed- where opportunities are not equally shared, in the declining living standards of manyucated peers. On a more personal level, and education is no longer the great equal- Americans.less-educated Americans are less likely to izer it once was for our nation. Though To reclaim the American Dream that ismarry and more likely to raise a child in there is no difference, for example, in eluding too many, local, state, and federalpoverty, which reduces the prospects for in- achievement between black and white chil- policymakers must pursue opportunities totergenerational mobility. dren at early ages, by the time black stu- improve student achievement with an al- dents enter school their test scores are most single-minded focus. A failure to doIn addition to personal costs, individuals lower, and they continue to lose ground so will leave too many Americans behindwith lower levels of education are more throughout their schooling. in an increasingly competitive global econ-likely to impose costs on society. Tellingly, \"By exploring the gap in outcomes ... we omy.the percentage of Americans without a high see how improving education can benefit

OUR QUESTFROM THEIR EYESDISABILITY: THE CONCEPT AND GENERAL UNDERSTANDING BY: DR. RASHMI MISHRAGeneral public has a very pigeon hole disability. Disability is thus experienced valued in eyes of everybody includingconcept regarding disability leading to by affected person and is described in their own. There is progressive weaken-many misconceptions and misunder- terms like “is unable to”, “has difficulty ing of bonds between the community andstandings. Disability is viewed as an iso- in or “cannot do” something or the other. their own family on one hand, and af-lated medical entity by most of the E.g. fracture of leg bone (impairment) fected persons on the other. A stage ispeople. Quite contrary to this belief, it is leads to difficulty in walking (Disability), reached when these bonds hold no moreactually a multi dimensional and multi- a person with defective vision (impair- and the affected persons are rejected andprong concept. ment) cannot read (Disability) and a pushed out of their homes and villages,Traditionally diseases are understood and mentally retarded person (impairment) is or they feel so rejected, shamed and in-dealt in medically well known framework unable to learn (Disability) sulted that they emigrate out of theirof “etiology (cause of disease)-pathology A person with persistent disability experi- homes and villages. In a desperate effort(process of disease)-treatment”. This bio- ences certain disadvantage in life as the to retain a modicum of self respect andmedical approach has not proved ade- result of which they are unable to play also to make living, they drift intoquate in dealing with the problems faced normal role in society and meet social anonymity of the urban crowd and live atby persons having chronic and disabling obligation normally expected of them. the fringe of urban or metropolitan soci-disorder. In view of this WHO has pro- These disadvantages that limit and pre- ety as beggars, leprosy colony dwellersposed a new 3 tier model to reflect full vent role fulfillment of affected persons or as inmates of so called rehabilitationrange of problems consequent to disease. are referred to as handicaps. For e.g. a homes where they are among theirThe sequence underlying illness related person with fracture of leg bone had dif- equals. This process of partial unity is re-phenomenon according to this model is ficulty in walking due to which he was ferred to as dehabilitation.“disease-impairment-disability-handi- unable to go to his workplace, lost his job Destitution is the last stage in this dismalcap,” the latte three being 3 tiers. and became unemployed. Unemployment progression of events. The destitute is to-Impairment refers to loss or abnormality is the disadvantage that prevents fulfill- tally friendless, so completely estrangedof a body part or function ad is described ment of the role of this person as the from all society as to be totally alone andin anatomical (i.e. part of body), physio- breadwinner of family. Thus this be- society passes him by absolutely uninter-logical (i.e. functioning of body) or psy- comes a handicap for him. ested in his living or dying.chological term. All medical diagnosis So, while going through this article,describes impairment e.g.loss of any Taking accident as example- reader’s concept of disability must havebody part, fracture of any bone, T.B of Accident------------ Disease widened. We think “disability”, impair-any part of body, defective vision or Loss of foot-------- Impairment ment and handicap to be synonym of onemental retardation. Impairment may be Inability to walk--- Disability another and have hardly any concept ofvisible or concealed; temporary or per- Unemployment---- Handicap dehabilitation and destitution. It is impor-manent; static or progressive; primary or tant for general public to understand allsecondary. Deformity may be defined as Most of the diseases have the impair- the above so as to be able to participatevisible consequence of concealed impair- ment-disability and handicap triad, but positively and sensibly in rehabilitationment. some have extended stages especially and main-streaming of all sorts of dis-Because of impairment the affected per- those which have social stigma attached ability-handicaps in society beginning atson may find it difficult or impossible to to them. For e.g. Leprosy. These stages level of individual to institutions dealingcarry out certain activity considered nor- are of dehabilitation and destitution. with the same.mal for the same age, sex, education, Persistently handicapped persons gradu-work experience and social background. ally lose their social status, get distancedThis inability or difficulty is referred as from rest of the community and are de-

OUR QUESTOPINIONATEDA THOUSAND SPLENDID NEEDS BY: RITVIK CHATURVEDINo country but India might have the dis- schools, administered either at the state or are the only ones available, and that doestinction of following Darwin’s statement of the central level, have ramps meant for not mean that they are any comfortable.‘survival of the fittest’. Maybe this country wheelchairs. None of them, to the best of In this regard, the Delhi underground tubealso has the distinction of taking it upon it- my knowledge, have any toilets meant for network or the metro, fares a bit better. Butself to implement this statement by the such people. Private schools also do not fare just like the buses run by Delhi Transportword. This is so because India might be one any better. In fact, in a recent survey con- Corporation (DTC), they are far tooof the worst countries in which to be born a ducted by the Delhi Government, many pri- crowded to be easily boarded by a physi-differently abled person. vate/unaided schools came under the radar cally challenged commuter. And the tale ofRight from their birth, people with special for having toilet facilities unusable for peo- woes does not end once s/he is inside theneeds start facing discrimination. The most ple with special needs. coach. What follows is an intense struggleunfortunate ones start facing this stigma But merely improving toilet facilities in to carve for yourself a niche among theeven within their families, where they are schools and colleges will never be suffi- many commuters. This, mind you, does notexcluded from usual everyday gatherings cient, although it may be a significant first. always guarantee you a seat even if fourand festivities. Some are lured to a place Making our country more friendly for dif- seats in each coach are reserved for ‘seniorand abandoned by their very parents. Sudha ferently abled people will require some citizens and physically challenged’. SinceMurty, in her anthology of stories Wise and overhaul of the city and ruralscape and a its inception, all metro stations have had aOtherwise, vividly narrates how one of her massive overhaul of our mentality that tactile path for visually challenged people.visually challenged friends was abandoned views people with special needs a burden. Unfortunately, most able commuters remainat a bus stop by her parents after being lured The last few years saw a slew of measures blissfully unaware of its purpose and tendby nothing more than a packet of biscuits. that are friendly for such people being in- to invariably tread on it, rendering it unus-With such cases happening everyday in the troduced in the national capital. But that able.millions, discrimination does not end at the seemed too little to change the mentality of Making our cities and public spacesfamily level. As the child grows and starts the people administering those measures. friendly for differently abled people is nec-going to school, it even aggravates. With in- The low floor buses that are supposedly essary to achieve the Millenium Develop-creased needs, the child might be bullied by wheelchair friendly were introduced with ment Goals (MDG) by 2015. Sadly, despitehis classmates or neglected by the teachers. much fanfare about seven years back. But ratifying United Nations Conventions onIf that is not enough, then ‘state adminis- their utility is contingent on the bus drivers, the Rights of People with Disability intered’ discrimination is the last straw on the who, more often than not do not embark 2007, the Planning Commission has failedcamel’s back. By this I mean that the state, near the bus stop for the wheelchair bound, to spell out any clear cut amendments to theintentionally or intentionally, is also dis- compelling the latter to take some other ex- 1995 law. India needs a new law to say thecriminating against its differently abled cit- pensive alternatives. Any person with spe- least, something that achieves more thanizens. No government school or educational cial needswill narrate to you the problems just annual conventions of youths with dis-institutions have the infrastructure to cater s/he faces while using public transport. The abilities.to the needs of such students. Very few expensive alternatives that they might useSPARE THE ROD AND SPOIL THE CHILDThere is so much peer pressure does need guidance; he can’t be future of their own, make their easily sucked into vices like drugthese days, increased social activ- given absolute freedom to do what own pack. This is order of nature. abuse, alcoholism, etc. A child isity due to World Wide Web that a he desires until he is mature So let us not try and break it. For like an empty vessel, they absorbperson is truly never alone. There enough to make his own deci- all those parents who spend no what they see and hear aroundare a thousand things that a child sions. Parents are like the guiding time with their kids and compen- them, so if their peer group is suchcomes in contact with everyday be light. They need to come in every sate by giving gifts and think of and they have no one to guideit via his friends, teachers or on- now and then keep a check on this as parenting, they are actually them their entire life gets ruined.line. With this influx of informa- their kids, keep their ever growing failing miserably in doing their The formative years of a child aretion who is to teach him what is tantrums in control and prepare duties. Sometimes it works out the most important, so parentswrong and what is right? And them for how life actually is. Even fine if the child is smart enough to should be careful in what sort ofwhat is the best way to go about in the wild once the mother figure out what really matters and exposure they are letting their kidit? teaches their cubs to hunt they let what he is not supposed to do but have and keep a constant eye out.In this information era, a child of them go so that they can start a more often than not a child can get

OUR QUESTOPINIONATEDARE WE REALLY THE MOST ADVANCED CIVILIZATION? BY: MEENAL PATHANIAWe have been lead to believe that the human civilization developed There are a million other unexplained facts that I have left out, all hint-from the most primitive form to the most advanced, kept growing in ing towards the existence of a greater power, a greater species but allcomplexity and intelligence as time passed. If this is really true there we do is laugh it off and regard it as science fiction. Why is that? Weare a lot of things that remain an enigma till date. Take the pyramids are but a planet in a galaxy which is the part of a universe that has afor example, believed to be built around 2500 B C in 22 years. Given billion galaxies. And we believe it to be the only place where life ex-all the technology we have presently, scientist still can’t replicate the ists. If aliens existed a lot of questions arise. Where are they now? Doexact model in 22 years. There are stones in the pyramid some of they contact us? Are they keeping a constant watch over us? And ifwhich weigh around 1000 tonnes. To put things into perspective a 1000 they are more advanced than is why don’t they just enslave us? Maybetonnes is as much as 32 cars compressed together. These were the they have the some device like memory eraser, used in Men in Black,times when people were supposed to not know even the m of ma- every now and then they come put ideas in our heads and leave. Andchines. How did they manage to transport such massive stones then? the mishaps come to be known as UFO sightings and numerous otherNo one has yet been able to come up with a plausible explanation as alien encounters. This just tells us that they aren’t infallible. They studyto the straight lines or “machine like marks “on the stone. Or about us at every moment. Maybe they even roam amongst us but to our eyeshow would they have transported such huge rocks and somehow man- they are invisible. We have yet to discover all species living amongstaged to fit them all perfectly. Not only is Giza an incredible feet of en- us, visible to the naked eye. So how can we just disregard this possi-gineering for its time, but it lies at the intersection of the longest lines bility? There is a place in the middle of the black hole in our galaxyof latitude and longitude. How is this possible? Did the builders of called singularity where law of Physics known to us do not apply.pyramids already understand Earth was round and its dimensions? Cracking this code is what scientists believe would pave way for in-The Pyramid of the Sun at Mexico's Teotihuacan, lies at the centre of tergalactic travel. In the billions of galaxies that exist, which supporta complex of pyramids, each aligned with a planet in the solar system. intelligent life of some kind, a few might have cracked it and wouldHow is this possible? Or how does one explain the Nazca lines, Lo- have come visited or maybe stayed. They might be more advanced incated in South America, etched into a high plateau in Peru’s Nazca their thinking, and have a grown up and a healthy mind so they don’tDesert, a series of ancient designs stretching more than 50 miles has want to interfere in our lives or enslave us. There are a lot of questions,baffled archaeologists for decades. Along with simple lines and geo- although a lot of this seems like science fiction there is a lot of concretemetric shapes, they include drawings of animals, birds and humans, evidence both practical and theoretical about the existence of a farsome measuring more than 600 feet across. Because of their colossal more superior civilization. Who knows that the description of Ravansize, the figures can only be appreciated from way up in the air —and taking Sita on his flying machine wasn’t a farfetched version of anthere is no evidence that the Nazca people, who inhabited the area be- alien abduction? Or that we are all under their control like in “the ma-tween 300 B.C. and 800 A.D., invented flying machines. The question trix” and we just don’t know it. This is mere speculation. But we can’tis if they did not know how to fly why would do they make such colos- ever completely disregard the theory of something superior than hu-sal drawings which can only be seen from the sky? Also many San- mans existing. Call it God or alien. Your choice. Means the sameskrit epics, which were written in India more than two millennia ago, thing. All the myths are peppered with reality here and there. It justcontain references to mythical flying machines called vimanas. In Ma- depends on our perception. There was a time when the idea of sunhabharta Sanjay gave live verbatim description of war to Dhritarashtra being the centre if the earth seemed preposterous, now this might seemwhile he was in his palace and war was being fought in Kurukshetra, like that. Who knows? Maybe in 20 years from now we would havelike the present day CCTV cameras. In Ramayana when Ravan abducts cracked the code to inter galactic travel and would be going to differentSita he does it some flying machine as described in the scriptures. In galaxies being received by aliens/gods. For that matter maybe we werethe Book of Ezekiel, part of the Hebrew bible, a prophet has a vision designed by them in such a way that death actually means that ourof a flying vessel accompanied by fire, smoke and loud noise. All the tenure in this galaxy is over. We leave our material body so that ourdescriptions in religious scriptures about “gods” coming from the sky soul can travel through that part of the black hole where law of physicsand showing them the way, teaching them how to live, is it purely fic- don’t apply and we couldn’t go in our material form. Maybe that istion? Or does it have a little truth in it which overtime has been blown our heaven or hell. We can’t come back because they probably holdout of proportion? What if people we now regard as Gods were actu- us back or erase our memory. Or maybe some of us might have triedally just a more advanced civilization that went extinct due to some to come back; there are so many alien abductions or UFO sighting.reason or what if these people were actually from other planets or They might be trying to come back tell them all about the new sur-galaxies who left? Basically people we regard as Gods today might rounding or might have wanted to take their loved ones with them.just be aliens. Who knows? The basic point is someone most advanced than us exists, as Bob Dylan put it “don’t criticise what you can’t understand”.

OUR QUESTSTQ IN NEWSA QUEST TO REFORM EDUCATION SYSTEM HAAT- BY DU BEAT -SEPTEMBER 08 2013DATED:- JUNE 2013 SAVE THE QUEST SENSITIZATION EVENT ATINTERVIEW: DCAC STUDENT SAIF AHMED KMCKHAN'S NGO \"SAVE THE QUEST\" - BY DU -OCTOBER 03 2013BEAT SAVE THE QUEST SENSITIZATION EVENT ATPUBLISHED ON:- SEPTEMBER 12TH 2013 KNCWITH A LITTLE HELP FROM FRIENDS\" - BY -OCTOBER 04 2013THE HINDU SAVE THE QUEST WALK TO CELEBRATEPUBLISHED ON:- OCTOBER 2ND 2013 WHITE CANE DAYCLAY-MODELING & DRAWING COMPETI- -OCTOBER 15 2013TION AT NAB, R.K.PURAMSTQ REPORT AUGUST 18, 2013 STQ AT DCAC AADYA MELA STQ CELEBRATING DIWALI MELA AT NABSAVE THE QUEST METRO WALK & DILLI