Broadside on Board
The Uttarakhand government’s decision to get its new Atal Utkrisht Vidhyalayas (AUV) affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is like a death sentence for its own Uttarakhand Vidhyalayi Shiksha Parishad (UVSP) popularly known as Uttarakhand Board. The local board is already plagued by a public perception that it is inferior when compared with the CBSE and ICSE boards which has manifested the former in a gradual decline in the enrolments for class X and XII examinations conducted by the Ramnagar based board. By showing open contempt towards its own board, the state government has given a message that the public perception about the Uttarakhand board is correct. Modelled on the lines of Kendriya Vidhyalayas (KV) and Navodaya Vidhyalayas, the AUV is one of the favourite projects of CM TSR. A total of 188 such schools- two in every block- would be opened in the state and the education department wants to start them from the next academic session.
School challenge
With the state government planning to open the gates of the schools for the students of class VI onwards from February 8 after a break of more than 10 months, maintaining the social distancing norms and other Covid-19 protocols would be a major challenge for the authorities. It would almost be impossible for the schools to ensure that the students are always at a distance of more than six feet from one another during their stay in the campuses. The authorities can impose a ban on the activities such as morning meetings, sports and co-curricular activities but it would be a herculean task to keep the students sufficiently separated in the classrooms. Further it would be too much to expect the kids to wear masks and regularly sanitise their hands while they are in the schools. At a time when everything is unlocking maintaining caution is the last thing one should forget, especially when the issue is related to the children. The dreaded disease has made a comeback in many countries and the new strain of the virus is said to be more virulent and fatal for the children.
Dressing down
A Babu heading the health department in the state capital was left red faced recently when in a public function the topmost officer of the department scolded him publically when some scribes complained to her that the Babu never ever picks their phone calls and always find escape routes when comforted with issues related with the department. Officials evading phone calls made by the journalists seeking quotes and others is not new but during the recent pandemic this tendency assumed very high proportions and spread along with the Covid-19 virus in the state. One understands the preoccupations of the officers with the tasks assigned to them and those working in the health department were on their toes during the recent pandemic but answering calls made on their phones is also part of their work. There is a government order in the state which bounds all its officers to receive calls made on their phones.
Friday, 05 February 2021 | Gajendera Singh Negi| Dehradun
