Roadside thoughts on education ( an old blog)

This evening when I was returning from T. Nagar to my residence I saw an interesting scene. The car was held up for sometime because of the long red signal on the main road. Some young boys of the age group 7 to 10 were moving around selling some books to the clients in the moving vehicles. Well, such a scene is not unusual. It happens in every city and almost every where when the vehicles stop for the signal or the rail crossing. The young poor children do move around along with some women selling dusting cloths, flowers and some clay models, plastic toys and what not. But these young poor kids were selling books.

When I peeped out, they had a series of comics on the hand in English language. One fellow accosted me and said in Tamil “Sir, good English comics.” They were Tom & Jerry comics” Others had some other comics with them in English language. I was stunned for a moment. I asked him “Do you know what is written at the front cover?” He smiled and said in Tamil “Theriyathu sir” (I don’t know, sir). He wants to sell these books so that other kids who can afford to buy can read and laugh!!! (He has no wherewithal to know, understand and laugh about the contents that he carries!)

May be some buy these books to please their wards studying in English Medium schools, some buy to please these poor guys eking out a living? Others buy for various other reasons.

The incident provoked me to a series of questions:

!. You may have any number of laws and constitutional provisions to send the young children to the school. But does it ensure their going to the school?

2. You may have any number of laws to prevent child labour. Does it ensure the kids from not working?

3. Do you need to know a language to sell the books in that language?

4. Right in the middle of the road, these kids exposed to traffic hazards are selling something or the other everyday – a constable possibly witnessing the scene day in and day out. How much are they exposed to accidents? Or how much those who drive down are exposed while they are watching the process of sale?

5. The kids may not be studying in a school and learning cognitive disciplines enforced on them. But still are they learning something about the human behaviour? – Some life skills?

Well, the green light is now on. I moved out abruptly ending the dynamics of my thoughts. Don’t ask me whether I bought a book or not! I am dumb educator caught in the web of the policies of a Government and as helpless as any one else who can only see, pity and write. Or like the character in “ The Man in Black” of Oliver Goldsmith pity, sympathize and help invisibly lest I am understood as virtual philanthrophist!!

But then, while sitting on the laptop and typing this I turn around. There is a picture of Swami Vivekananda carrying his powerful saying “Awake! Arise!! Stop not till the goal is reached!”