Congratulations to EducationWorld and Infosys for initiating the EW-Infosys Young Achievers Awards (EW August). It is befitting that two forward looking pioneer organisations have got together to recognise and encourage young talent across the country. Though you sound surprised that Infosys provided the “sole affirmative reply” to EducationWorld’s proposal to institute the young achievers awards, I am not at all surprised by the lukewarm response of Indian industry. The truth is that the over-hyped leaders of Indian industry are not at all aware of the connection between the country’s crumbling education system and the miserable productivity and bad manners of their companies. They seem to believe that it is easy to fool the public by making politically correct noises about the importance of education and throwing a few crumbs into education initiatives. And even for the little they do, they want big tax breaks. Perhaps the new IT companies- Infosys and TCS (which sponsored your search for India’s best teachers) led by enlightened leaders such as N.R. Narayana Murthy and F.C. Kohli and S. Ramadorai are exceptions to this rule. But the great majority of India’s businessmen, whom you hyped up into great business heroes in your previous avatars as editor of Business India and Businessworld, are greedy, selfish people given to conspicuous consumption and self-promotion. I hope your cover story on the Infosys-EducationWorld Young Achievers Awards will shake them out of their slumber and prompt them to do something worthwhile to raise the abysmal standards of Indian education. K.M. George Thiruvanathapuram Also read: Scientists bag Infosys-Educationworld Young Achievers Awards 2006 Curious anomaly I read your special report feature “Runaway coaching schools boom: boon or bane?” (EW August) with great interest. The arguments for and against coaching schools which move heaven and earth to get their students into India’s top education institutions such as the IIMs, IITs and medical schools are cogently and clearly presented. Though as contended by Dr. Natarajan, coaching schools serve a useful purpose, there is no doubt in my mind that at best, they are a necessary evil. Because they are essentially money-making enterprises accessible only to the affluent classes, they effectively shut out the poor majority from the highly subsidised IIMs, IITs and best colleges of undergraduate education. Thus we have the curious anomaly of children of the relatively rich grabbing all the seats in the best institutions of higher education, not necessarily because they are meritorious, but because they can afford to enroll in coaching schools. The obvious conclusion is to upgrade government schools so that rural students have a chance of entering the best institutions of higher education. Patricia Mathur Delhi Interesting reading The August issue of EducationWorld was full of interesting reading as usual. I particularly enjoyed the expert comment page which featured excerpts of your address to the National Governors Association in Des Moines, USA. The address was very statesman- like and rich in detail. I’m sure it will be remembered. Dr. Glenn Christo Bangalore Pleasant surprise I have been a reader of EducationWorld since the past year. I was pleasantly surprised to read…
