Comments on: Imminent Fall of Nitish Govt? Part II http://biharandjharkhand.com/blog/?p=134 Serving the people of Bihar and Jharkhand around the world Thu, 09 Sep 2010 19:20:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 By: R P Singh http://biharandjharkhand.com/blog/?p=134&cpage=1#comment-366 R P Singh Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:49:03 +0000 http://biharandjharkhand.com/blog/?p=134#comment-366 In the last year of its tenure the Nitish Kumar govt should think seriously about implementing the recommendations of the Muchkund Dubey committee on Common School system. The vast majority of middle class, lower middle class and poor students and their guardians are looking toward it with hope.This hope has its foundation in the arguments of some of the brilliant minds of the country which advocate Common School system. Many well-meaning people outside Bihar are eager to see the positively bold and long overdue experiment in the field of education. The state should show the way.If it seems too bold to take the whole of the state in one go, it can be experimented on a pilot basis in one or two districts. If the results are found encouraging, it can be extended; if not, the govt will be free to wind it up. But to leave it lying in the limbo will be like doing nothing while seeing a looming disaster with open eyes. The prevailing chasm in the accessibility of good education for the haves and have-nots is just too much. Any govt which claims to have care for its people should not tolerate such inequality. In political terms, the step to bridge this chasm will give advantages, because it will be taken by the people as one of the best things a govt can do to improve their lot. In the last year of its tenure the Nitish Kumar govt should think seriously about implementing the recommendations of the Muchkund Dubey committee on Common School system. The vast majority of middle class, lower middle class and poor students and their guardians are looking toward it with hope.This hope has its foundation in the arguments of some of the brilliant minds of the country which advocate Common School system. Many well-meaning people outside Bihar are eager to see the positively bold and long overdue experiment in the field of education. The state should show the way.If it seems too bold to take the whole of the state in one go, it can be experimented on a pilot basis in one or two districts. If the results are found encouraging, it can be extended; if not, the govt will be free to wind it up. But to leave it lying in the limbo will be like doing nothing while seeing a looming disaster with open eyes. The prevailing chasm in the accessibility of good education for the haves and have-nots is just too much. Any govt which claims to have care for its people should not tolerate such inequality. In political terms, the step to bridge this chasm will give advantages, because it will be taken by the people as one of the best things a govt can do to improve their lot.

]]> By: Dr P R Prasad http://biharandjharkhand.com/blog/?p=134&cpage=1#comment-360 Dr P R Prasad Wed, 23 Dec 2009 05:59:48 +0000 http://biharandjharkhand.com/blog/?p=134#comment-360 A passing reference has been made in this post regarding development of Andhra Pradesh and the fall of Chandra Babu Naidu Govt. In this connection, a recent news item published in Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Not-just-T-AP-poor-across-the-divide/articleshow/5360328.cms is worth mentioning. It says: <em>Andhra figures among the bottom eight in the country; its human development index (HDI) is worse than Assam, strife-torn J&K or even the investor-unfriendly West Bengal; states such as Karnataka, TN, Punjab and Gujarat are way ahead of Andhra. AP’s average infant mortality rate (54 deaths per 1,000 live births) is only better than states such as Bihar, UP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. All that AP has seen in the past many years are pockets of development - largely the rise of Hyderabad with islands of activity in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.</em> I believe Nitish Govt is not going the Andhra way and not getting swayed by the reported affluence of Patna or the awards and accolades showered on it. In a recent statement Nitish Kumar has said, "Central Govt and its policies are stalling Bihar's forward march. We want to take Bihar to a new era but obstacles are being put at every step". He also admits that his efforts are negated by rampant corruption from top to bottom in state bureaucracy. But whether it is the non-cooperation of central government or opposition parties, OR the corruption in the government machinery, in the final analysis what matters is the Govt's ability to overcome these impediments and deliver the fruits of development to the majority residing in the state. Dr P R Prasad, Patna A passing reference has been made in this post regarding development of Andhra Pradesh and the fall of Chandra Babu Naidu Govt. In this connection, a recent news item published in Times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Not-just-T-AP-poor-across-the-divide/articleshow/5360328.cms
is worth mentioning. It says: Andhra figures among the bottom eight in the country; its human development index (HDI) is worse than Assam, strife-torn J&K or even the investor-unfriendly West Bengal; states such as Karnataka, TN, Punjab and Gujarat are way ahead of Andhra. AP’s average infant mortality rate (54 deaths per 1,000 live births) is only better than states such as Bihar, UP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. All that AP has seen in the past many years are pockets of development - largely the rise of Hyderabad with islands of activity in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.

I believe Nitish Govt is not going the Andhra way and not getting swayed by the reported affluence of Patna or the awards and accolades showered on it.

In a recent statement Nitish Kumar has said, “Central Govt and its policies are stalling Bihar’s forward march. We want to take Bihar to a new era but obstacles are being put at every step”. He also admits that his efforts are negated by rampant corruption from top to bottom in state bureaucracy.

But whether it is the non-cooperation of central government or opposition parties, OR the corruption in the government machinery, in the final analysis what matters is the Govt’s ability to overcome these impediments and deliver the fruits of development to the majority residing in the state.

Dr P R Prasad, Patna

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