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Atishi Points to “Irregularities” in 12 DU Colleges in Letter to Centre

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Delhi Education Minister, Atishi, has pointed out certain excesses undertaken in 12 DU colleges in a letter to the Union Education Minister.

 Delhi Education Minister, Atishi, on Friday, wrote to the Union Education Minister, Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, underlining “irregularities” in the administration of 12 DU Colleges funded by the Delhi government.

She expanded upon these irregularities citing instances of procedural lapses in appointments, creation of unauthorised posts, and salaries in crores being paid to staff who were never appointed through established procedures.

Other such instances listed include the misappropriation of funds from the Grant-in-aid (GIA) which also involves the salary to the GIA-General. Atishi alleged that these oversights occurred despite crores of funds lying in the corpus of these colleges. Further instances of arbitrary and irregular payments towards sanitation and security services as well as allotment of Canteen and other contractual services were flagged.

She expressed that since these colleges are directly affiliated with DU, they are not answerable to the Delhi government for “judicious” utilisation of funds. She thus proposed two possible courses of action. The 12 colleges could either be merged under the purview of the Delhi government or the centre could assume full control and responsibility of these institutions in which case the Delhi government would no longer allocate funds to these institutions.

This comes in light of the release of Rs 100 crore by the Delhi government earlier in June this year out of the sanctioned Rs 400 crore allocated by the government in 2023-24 to these institutions.

The education minister thus took this opportunity to highlight the issue as being symptomatic of a larger pattern of financial malpractices and oversight.

There was no immediate reaction from the University.

 

Featured Image Credits : PTI

 

Deevya Deo

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Arts & Culture

Studying Abroad: Navigating the Fascination and Dilemma

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Lakhs of Indian students migrate to study abroad every year. What sparks the intrigue, and is it truly warranted?

The fascination with studying abroad among Indian students is a phenomenon that can be attributed to various factors, both societal and practical. While there is much to gain from a foreign degree like global exposure and quality education, a lot is lost, such as family and culture. How does one navigate the trade-offs and decipher how to make the right decision?

One factor driving this fascination might be how studying abroad is considered a mark of prestige and quality education in Indian society. Another contributing factor is the perception that they offer better academic opportunities and could lead to higher earning potential. From another perspective, limited domestic options due to low availability and high competition for seats in Indian institutes drive the youth to look for options abroad. Moreover, most education systems abroad curate their programs in a way that allows for variety and flexibility in the subjects and structures offered. This is appealing to Indian students.

I have always looked forward to pursuing a Master’s degree abroad because it’s hard to find career advancements domestically in my field, especially since it’s not of professional nature.” – Seher, a third-year student

Apart from these, there exist factors that seem to be rooted in no solid reasoning. Historical migration patterns in the family or social expectations can create a sense of normativity and peer pressure. The idea of studying abroad, which may have been limited to a certain social class earlier, has become a more common goal due to changing societal norms.

However, when reaching an age where the future seems too close, hesitations creep in. The potential difficulties regarding adapting to a new culture with different social norms and values, leaving family behind and the financial burden may contribute to students rethinking their decisions.

On not being able to receive a scholarship for the program I was accepted into, I dropped the idea of moving abroad. I would not have been able to handle the expenses.” – A DU alumnus.

Thus arises the need to introspect and assess your goals, both personal and professional. Navigate this decision by reflecting on your priorities regarding career and life goals. Get to know yourself better, try gauging through self-reflection and conversations with well-wishers on what suits you the best. Seek guidance from counselling services, college seniors or family members abroad to better understand the challenges and benefits of international study.

Due to these complexities, it’s essential to make informed decisions keeping in mind your ideals as well as practical considerations. Studying abroad can be an enriching and transformative experience only if guided by mindful intentions.

Read also: The Right Time to Study Abroad

Featured image credits: Unsplash

Arshiya Pathania

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Arts & Culture

Oh Lal Chutney Waale, Apni Degree to Bata

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This article adds to the buzz and discussion surrounding the “degree-walas”- the graduates who have been taking not only social media but also the street food industry by storm.

“Graduation ke baad college ke bahar momos ka stall kholenge” (after graduation we’ll open a momos stall outside college) and “Yaar maggi wale bhaiya kitna kamate honge?” (how much do you think the maggi seller earns) are just a few of the many statements that define a college student, particularly one unsure of what the future holds. For most of us, they are merely a lighthearted escape from the constant degree and college slander and are not intended to be taken seriously. These statements, casually thrown around in after-class conversations, are among the many promises that are made and buried over the course of a degree. But much like how some are able to finally turn their Goa and Manali trips into reality, some capably materialise this as well. I dived into writing this piece without realising the commonality of what I was writing about. It turns out that the relationship between rigorous academic degrees and simplistic street food is more ubiquitous than one would have thought.

From MBA Chaiwala to B.tech Panipuri wali, recently it has been quite hard to overlook viral videos on social media wherein fancy degree holders are venturing into classic street food businesses with an added touch of their own. From fire kulhad pizzas to comforting rajma-chawal, there is something for everyone!

Most recent is the virality of Tapsi Upadhyay, a 21-year-old engineering student who captured the attention of food enthusiasts by giving the beloved panipuri (I prefer the term golgappe) a healthier spin. With “air-fried” pani puri and “organic” tamarind and jaggery sauces, she started her business to contribute to a ‘Swasth Bharat’. As much as one could concur our nonchalance towards “healthy” street food, the idea appears to be working for her. Within just 6 months of operations, her team has been able to expand to four carts at multiple locations across Delhi. However, internet users’ reactions to a video detailing her inspiration and hardships, which has gained over 13 million views on Instagram, have been conflicted.

“Hats off that she is doing everything it takes to be her own boss and being financially independent.”- an Instagram user

“A degree doesn’t guarantee a good job with good living standards. Good to see she started something of her own. All the best to her.” – said another user on social, complimenting the business

On the flip side of the coin, a small part of users have also been vocal about this apparent misdirection.

“Not demeaning anyone but can’t understand why people after doing a good education start street food and term it as entrepreneurship. After completing B.Tech one should think of new technology and innovation rather than selling street food.” – a third user on Instagram

“Wearing a cap is cool but wearing a helmet is a taboo.” – remarked another person in reference to “Panipuriwali” being spotted driving a Royal Enfield Bullet without a helmet.

 

picture 1 (1) (3).jpg
Snippet from the viral video showing B.Tech panipuri riding a bike with her pani puri stall attached behind, Image Credits: @are_you_hungry007 on Instagram

The tags such businesses possess, which undoubtedly attract intrigue and help with fame, may sometimes have a hint of clickbait as well. For instance, when one hears of MBA Chaiwala, they would inadvertently think of somebody who after slogging for a degree they have no interest in, spent years in the tortuous corporate sector only to realise their true love for making and selling chai. However, the idea simply developed from a rejection from the three-lettered dream college franchise of many graduates. So maybe, if you are looking for a sign to “follow your passion” AFTER doing an MBA, this might not be the best one.

But it goes without saying that one would question how these individuals break free from the shackles of log kya kahenge? (what would people say?) More specifically, why would they need to?

For starters, the ‘hustle culture’ is a term with exceedingly mixed opinions and something that most university students unwittingly fall victim to. However, Indore-born student Ajay is a true example of what grit and perseverance are all about. He sets out at night with “Indore’s first chai on wheels” in the hopes of selling his “Cycle-wali-chai” and making enough money to pay for his coaching, education, and a comfortable sustenance.

Ajay sells tea at night to pay for coaching classes, Image Source: The Indian Express

For others, it might be about embracing the entrepreneurial spirit and the startup wave India takes immense pride in. In an exclusive conversation with DU Beat, Prasenjit Bhowmick talked about his inspiration to work on ‘Engineer Momowala’.

“I always wanted to be in the IT department but my parents forced me to go into mechanical. But I started learning about things like web development and government documentation from YouTube so I could work in a real estate company. But the turning point was when I realised that if I could help a company go from a shuttered office to 8 branches in a single city in just 10 months, then why couldn’t I build a successful company of my own?”

For a Bangalore couple that went viral for reportedly earning 12 lakhs a day, ’Samosa Singh’ was about owning something of their own and possessing the desire to take it to newer heights. Transitioning from high-paying jobs and selling their apartment to build the company further must not have been the easiest of tasks, but their love and devotion towards samosas and its “reclamation of the rightful place among Indian snacks” got them where they are- a company with an annual turnover of 45 crore rupees.

People jumping on this bandwagon might also be doing so as a means of escaping the grind of a 9–5 job. With India recently becoming the most populous country (yes,that day has finally arrived and no, it’s not 2030 yet) and job seekers outnumbering quality job openings, this could offer significant respite from the dearth of employment opportunities in a highly competitive economy. This is what was experienced by Priyanka Gupta, a 25-year-old economics graduate from Bihar, who became Patna’s ‘Chaiwali’ after failing to crack bank examinations for two years. Being a student of economics myself, I would understand the need to do away with the quantitative distress the degree unfurls on you (smiles painfully), but starting a ‘tapri’ of your own is harder than it sounds.

“I went to different banks and asked for a PM Mudra Loan, but they refused. Finally, after running around for one and a half months, I borrowed 30,000 from a college friend.” – Priyanka Gupta, ‘Graduate Chaiwali’

Lastly, I wonder if the fame and existence of such ventures is short-lived. With over 50 million videos across social media, are these only for a one-time experience and places restricted to a couple of Instagram stories and reels? I wonder if we are responsible for over-popularizing them, it is after all just chai and samosa.

 

Read also: The Home Conundrum, and the Battle of Graduating – DU Beat – Delhi University’s Independent Student Newspaper

Featured Image Credits: Hindustan Times

Manvi Goel
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DUB Speak

The Rewriting of Education: A Distorted POV

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distorted education

Education has been considered a weapon for betterment. But more than creating a “better nation” or “better future’, has it just ended up becoming a rendition of the voice of the powerful?

They said “Padhega India tabhi toh badhega India” but what if the things India is studying aren’t history, or political theory, or literature, but rather an anomaly crafted out of politics and agendas, moulded to the needs of those upper-class, upper-caste, 60-year-old men sitting in high chairs?

Education has always been the easiest, most accessible, and most influential sphere in any society. From Communist propaganda in the Soviet Union to the widespread antisemitic beliefs in Nazi Germany, education has been at the centre of it all, watching the world catch on fire while helping this fire find its stronghold in new minds.

But this isn’t just a lamentation about something plucked out from a page of some book of the past, but rather a lamentation about the present, and more importantly about the future.

In a very recent case, a PIL was filed at the Delhi High Court, explicitly seeking a removal of portions teaching the history of the Mughals from the NCERT textbooks. In the past, this trend has been observed in the cases of state boards as well, making this not just an isolated incident which can be ignored and buried. Maharashtra state board removed the history of rulers like Razia Sultan and Muhammad Bin Tughlaq, deeming such history “irrelevant” for the students, replacing the space with an elaborate history of other rulers such as Chhatrapati Shivaji. A similar case from Rajasthan led to a controversy over the rewriting of the “distorted” history in textbooks, the one of concern being that of the ‘Battle of Haldighati’. On the other hand, the suffix ‘the Great’ from Akbar’s name was removed in textbooks. Following this was the recent decision of a committee to revise the Karnataka board textbooks, including the removal of a chapter about the introduction of religions like Jainism or Buddhism from the books.

But all this exaggerated focus on schools doesn’t mean that college curriculums are safe. From the replacement of poems by Dalit writers, and the deletion of the feminist interpretation of the Ramayana as well as sections from the “Interrogating Queerness” paper in the English curriculum a few years back to the deletion of an essay on the Ramayana by A. K. Ramanujan (one considered of extreme importance in the study of history by academicians) as well as the sidelining of (you guessed it right) the Mughal history, Delhi University itself hasn’t been spared.

 

So, has this just ended up becoming a propaganda-driven education, changing with every election? Does it mean that more than inculcating representation or inclusiveness, it has just become a hollowed-out skeleton in the hands of a selected few? Maybe India’s secularism has been hidden into a corner, blindfolded, and tied up so that there are no questions.

But all of this has still ended up raising questions— Till how long can the remaking of history, be passed off under the veil of revision? If these revisions were really to correct distortions, why have their end results ended up as distortions too? 

 

Feature Image Credit: The Citizen

 

Manasvi Kadian

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Features

E-learning: Woes of Students in Kashmir

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Read about the problems faced by students residing in Kashmir in accessing e-learning resources online due to low-speed internet.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration said that only 2G internet will be available to residents till April 3rd amid calls for restoration of high speed 4G internet in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

This poses a grave concern for students – as the world resorts to online classes for regular classes and lectures, students residing in Kashmir are troubled by frequent disruptions and delays in their educational pursuits. The learning process isn’t facilitated well, because the streaming quality is often poor due to low-speed internet. The union territory of J&K has over 15,000 schools and colleges catering to tens of thousands of students.

Bareen, a student of Jesus and Mary College, explains how difficult it is to continue and keep up the pace with everyone residing in the rest of the country when it comes to even basic tasks, “We are often not able to access video lectures, apart from this; National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) aspirants are facing problems in filling up forms and studying without able internet. Internet Banking has been absolutely crippled, failed transactions is the norm now due to slow net. Basic communication through mediums like WhatsApp is hard; downloading audios, videos and documents has become a huge problem. There is no question of even accessing other websites like Netflix, YouTube and social media for recreation and leisure.”

“Restore 4G internet services to help student learn from home,” an association of private schools in the valley has said in a message. The association said the ban on high speed 4G internet services has been preventing schools from offering Google classroom teaching to students in the region. “While private schools show their readiness to shift to online lesson plans, they’re running into limitations of our broadband networks,” said G N Var, president of the Kashmir Private School Association.

Feature Image Credits: Instagram / Stand with Kashmir Feature Image Caption: A letter written by a 5th grade student to address his lack of access to online classes.
Image Credits: Instagram / Stand with Kashmir
 Image Caption: A letter written by a 5th grade student to address his lack of access to online classes.

Doctors and other health care personnel have also faced significant predicaments. With concerns arising over the coronavirus pandemic, the risks to life and lungs have increased. A Kashmiri doctor recently tweeted his frustration over not being able to download the ICU guidelines for COVID-19 even after an hour of trying, due to the low-speed internet.

Feature Image Credits: The Hindu

 

Paridhi Puri

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DUB Speak

Sex Education Season 2: The Humour We Need

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Sex Education, a comedy-drama series, came out with its second season on the 17th of January, 2020, on Netflix. The new season has shed light upon topics that parents prefer not to talk about with their children.

The show essentially revolves around the life of a teenager, Otis, who goes on to follow the footsteps of his mother, who is a sex therapist. From the partial knowledge he gained from her, Otis starts an underground sex therapy business with Maeve in school. Otis, being a teenager himself, gives ‘expert’ advice to other curious students who are on a quest to explore their sexual identities.

The series became a widely watched show in about no time because the producers have touched upon those issues that people shy away from. Along with the development in its plot, the new season went on to use humour and love to carefully bring forth these issues for the audience.

Sex Education has played a huge role in normalizing homosexuality, bisexuality, pansexuality and asexuality as well. The show may be about a boy but the girls are the ones who stand out. Also, another topic that has been addressed here is unwanted sexual contact. Aimee, a friend of Maeve, gets sexually assaulted on the bus while on her way to school. Aimee, after the incident, gets highly disturbed and refuses to board the bus until Maeve, Lily, Ola, and Olivia decide to accompany her.

The writers of the show also expressed the significance of consent through a few glimpses. By taking the example of Maeve and her mother, the show also took a turn and focused on faulty parenting. Jackson, an extraordinary swimmer, embarks on a new journey to discover where his interests truly lie, after experiencing poor mental health and indulging in self-harm.

Aditi Gutgutia, a student of Lady Shri Ram College, said, “Season 2 had fallen more towards a cliché high school drama and was highly predictable, which was somehow disappointing, but on the other hand, the added depth to some of the characters was admirable.”

The addressed issues in the show needed to be brought forth because they are often overlooked by the people. The writers have done a fairly commendable job by tackling these issues with love.

Image credits- Newsweek

Suhani Malhotra

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Campus Central

DU to Launch Endowment Funds to Meet IoE Requirements

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DU will receive INR 100 crore grant from the government for achieving IoE status and aims to raise the equivalent amount on its own.

 

In September 2019, the University of Delhi was awarded the status of Institute of Eminence (IoE) by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on the recommendation of the University Grants Commission (UGC). In order to meet the requirements of the same, the university has launched the ‘Endowment Fund of the Delhi University’ which aims to raise INR 100 crore over a period of five years and has also encouraged alumni to invest in sectors of their choice, which may range from building to research funds. 

 

This tag allows the University a grant of INR 100 crore from the government over five years and aims to raise the same amount on its own as well. The varsity states that the funds will be, “100% tax exemption and has no restriction on the amount of contribution. The donor can choose the area in which his/her contribution should be utilised. The information on the utilisation of funds will be displayed on the university website and 50 per cent of the funds earmarked for girl students. There also will be a compulsory audit of the endowment by the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.”

 

According to a circular signed by the Vice-Chancellor, Yogesh Tyagi, the University is currently in the top 500 universities globally according to QS World University Ranking and is aiming to be in top 100 over the next 10 years. However, it lacks new institutions in the field. “To help our students and faculty attain academic excellence, the University would like to provide them with the necessary support, including the best and most modern research facilities and educational infrastructure”, further states the circular.

 

The letter also suggests, “It will provide opportunities and facilities to enhance the quality of teaching and research and to attract talent from outside the University and make them stakeholders in our growth story. This enterprise will ultimately lead to the University’s role and contribution to the nation-building and to scale greater heights in the global rankings.”

 

The University is yet to sign an agreement with the Ministry, under which it will lay out the plan to achieve the status of a world-class institution. Public institutions with IoE status are eligible for a government grant of INR 1000 crores. Upon getting the IoE status, DU will have complete academic, administrative and financial autonomy to spend the resources it raises and is allocated.

 

Recently Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IITD) also launched a global endowment fund of INR 250 crore in presence of President Ram Nath Kovind by 10 founder alumni members. The University states that the fund will be utilised for “each one teach one” providing a student aid of INR 10000 to each student to facilitate their education. 

 

Feature Image credits: DU Beat Archives

 

Aditi Gutgutia
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Arts & Culture

Productive Activities for a Better Self

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With the vacations upon us, here’s a piece on how you can make them more productive, not only for your own development but for enriching the lives of others!

Here is a list of activities you can do in these holidays, for a healthier and happier self!

  1. Join NGOs

NGOs are great places for development and introspection of oneself. They make you realise your privilege and the kind places you come from with the best of all facilities. NGOs make your heart melt and become a person more empathetic towards the society. So this winter break, spend some time to give back to the community. Be it any NGO right from animal rescue to taking care of senior citizens. Make this break worth the while.

  1. Volunteer!

As exciting as it sounds, volunteering for events is a very learning process. Not only it shapes a person but also helps in developing the various parts of their personality they never knew they had to themselves. Right from organisational skills to event management, volunteering is a great exercise to get in to.

  1. Teach Children

There is no greater joy than the one you receive after you see education opening up the hearts of the people around you, especially the children when you see the twinkle in their eyes. Go out, bring the season’s cheers upon the hearts of the underprivileged kids you see in your neighbourhood. You don’t have to teach them everyday, but keep teaching them something or the other frequently; that keeps them hopeful and restores their faith of kindness still existing in the world.

  1. Take Care of the Stray Animals

Tiniest actions such as feeding them biscuits in this harsh winter will give them the love they seek outside. Go a good deed by acknowledging their existence and bring warmth to your heart and of the furballs you spot in your neighbourhood!

  1. Organise Cleanliness Drives

For a cleaner, safer and healthier future, it is important that we start taking actions from today itself. Work for the mission of a cleaner India by organising small cleanliness drives in your place. Get along with your friends in a group and educate people, because at the end of the day, alone we are so little, together, we can do so much.

  1. Stay Fit!

Participate in the various marathons, and do not forget to exercise regularly (even though the idea brings the chills!) for it’s important to stay fit.

Continuing these activities will surely result in a healthy college life and personal life balance. So, aim for ending this year positively, will all the good deeds backing you up for a brighter and beautiful year ahead!

 

Feature Image Credits: Scopio

Amrashree Mishra

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DUB Speak

Meet Aditya Arora, an Entrepreneur Who Started His Journey at 17!

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Meet an entrepreneur to get inspired by. Explore with Aditya Arora the insights into the entrepreneurial world.

Aditya Arora is a promising young entrepreneur, CEO of Faad Network, and an alumnus of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (SSCBS). He started his journey at the young age of 17, and is now a well-known name in the industry. We sat down with him to know about his journey and his insights into the entrepreneurial world. 

Here are some excerpts from the interview:

Shreya: Tell us something about yourself and your journey of becoming a successful entrepreneur at this very young age. 

Aditya: I was very academically focused in school and got SSCBS, which was my dream college. In SSCBS, I pursued Bachelors in Finance and Investment Analysis. Apart from studies, I was a part of the Economics Club, and debating society as well. It was in second year when this company called Faad came into my college during an internship fair where I eventually interned during summers. It is in those two months of working with Faad that I learned what exactly entrepreneurship is, and also what are the different traits of it. The internship got converted into first, a part-time opportunity and then a full-time opportunity and by the end of the college, I was the CEO of the company. 

Shreya: Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job or studying further?

Aditya: So it wasn’t mandatory to do internship during my second year. Thus, it was the perfect time to explore all possible options and figure out what works best for me. And it was always in my second nature to do something different from what the others were doing. My internship with Faad totally changed the game for me. I always say this about my journey that I had thousand reasons to not become an entrepreneur but my internship gave me so many reasons why I should become an entrepreneur. It has helped a great deal in shaping who I am today. 

Shreya: What are the difficulties you faced in this journey?

Aditya: The biggest difficulty I faced was that of the mindset. An entrepreneurial mindset is different from others. It is supposed to be more risk-taking, more creative and more analytical, and of course, the ability to bounce back from failures. Building this mindset was the biggest challenge. Convincing my parents and my peers that I want to be an entrepreneur as opposed to doing MBA or taking up a job was another big challenge. My parents are from non-entrepreneurial background so it was difficult convincing them. Constant travel and time-management was another difficulty which I wasn’t used to. 

Shreya: Entrepreneurship is a risky field to be in. What are the skills, according to you, one must possess to be a successful entrepreneur?

Aditya: Risk is everywhere. Thus I didn’t see entrepreneurship as very risky because I see risk in everything. The most important thing to possess is the passion and vision to become an entrepreneur, because it is not going to be an easy journey. Secondly, time management is one of the most crucial skills to possess. And finally, it is necessary to have an open mindset. Society feeds us with a script of life. But if you have an open mind, you can make things work the way you want them to work. 

Shreya: How can one bounce back from failures in life?

Aditya: I firmly believe in the quote that the best way to deal with failure is to not see it as one. Once you start looking at them as an opportunity, the spectrum changes totally because then you know that if A didn’t work, then B will. As I said before, having the mindset of bouncing back from failure is indispensable to an entrepreneur. If you have the tendency to give up after a failure, you are perhaps not cut out for entrepreneurship. 

Shreya: Tell us something about your social campaign ‘Education Yatra’.

Aditya: It was a social campaign I started wherein I just wanted to go out there and spend some time with the underprivileged kids, understand their mindset, and teach them. I used to partner with some NGOs that have been doing deep work inside the community for years. I went to these places called learning centers where students from different classes come and study together. The motive of “Education Yatra” was that a child shouldn’t be given education based on his/ her class but on the basis of their knowledge capability. A 9th standard kid can have a mindset of a 4th standard student and also vice-versa. For this campaign I got awarded by Microsoft and now I am getting an award from UN for the same. My motive is to spread this idea to as many places as possible. 

Shreya: At last, what are your future plans and how will you go about from now?

Aditya: I honestly do not have a concrete future plan to tread upon because life has changed so quickly for me in the last four to five years that I don’t really plan a lot of things. But, I do have a vision which is to support and empower young people around me. This is my mission. Currently, I want to grow Faad further and that’s what I am currently involved with. 

Feature Image Credits: Aditya Arora

Shreya Agrawal

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Uncategorized

The Elitism of Education: Acknowledging the Privilege

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There are people from all walks of life who aim of accessing education but, the elitism around it stands as an overcast shadow, giving chances to some and leaving others behind.

Each year, when the results of the 12th grade examinations are declared, the nation collectively holds its breath. It does not matter if your kid is actually in 12th, or if they are in the second grade. The results reach new heights each year, with students working hard to achieve seemingly impossible scores. It is with these scores that come the impossible cut-offs.

It is a thinly veiled fact that the University of Delhi (DU) remains to be one of the most sought after universities in India. The “DU Tag” is a golden goose to catch, since it offers both – a subsidised education, and a status symbol. Thus, every passing year becomes a blood-bath of score battles to get into the best colleges. The idea of over-achievement is now so deeply internalised that even students who are fully aware that one exam set for one day is hardly enough to judge their worth, get carried away and caught in this vicious trap.

Many feel a sense of elitist pride for having been admitted to one of the more prestigious universities of India and our conditioning tells us – “well, why shouldn’t we?” After all, we worked hard to achieve it and it is a big deal. It is at this stage in the stream of thoughts that we contribute to forgetting our privilege. In economics, the “cycle of poverty” is the “set of factors or events by which poverty, once started, is likely to continue unless there is outside intervention”. This cycle is built on gate-keeping the weaker sections of our society from accessing the resources, education being an important one of them, which they direly require to come out of their existing state of situations.

Education is freedom. It is for that reason that education became such an important tool for the British to keep their colonies “in-line” – for that is precisely why only a certain set of Indians were educated in order to create a divide, and the perfect set of subordinates. It is then, that it becomes interesting to see that even after 72 years of Independence, it is exactly what we continue to replicate in slightly different ways. This is not a secret that in India, a Government school education is inherently sub-par when compared to the private education. This divide exists not just because of more highly qualified, high-paid teachers who can be held accountable but it also exists because of every other element that a private education entails. It entails an ability to afford dedicated teachers, extra reading material, and even private tuitions – something that has become a rite of passage in possibly every Indian household that can afford to do so, and most importantly, a support system that enables this culture of education.

It is then that the prospect of Government colleges being revered over private institutions becomes an asset. It works towards bridging a gap of working towards the façade that it is not just money that would get you a good education, but it is your own merits, too. However, when the Government of India introduces policies like the National Education Policy of 2019, which works towards privatisation of these government institutions, this re-enforces a privilege that already has had a strong base, to begin with. When we make Government institutions autonomous and give them the liberty to set up courses with their own fee-structures, when we allow the Government to take away the job security of those who put “quality” in quality education, we allow a culture of gate-keeping.

Not every student can afford to pay lakhs to be able to go to a university. It is then that it becomes important to recognise this cycle of elite education, and to make conscious efforts to resist it.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Shreya Juyal

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