Comments on: A Public (Government) School in Bihar

By: Lallan tiwari

Lallan tiwari — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:34:50 +0000

Yes the shape of early , primary , secondary and higher education in Bihar was very poor , partly due to inefficieny of Bihar politcal leaders and largely due to the Rest of india and the Central government discriminating aginst the poor State of Bihar , Most of the policies made by the Central govt since indian independence were against the interest of Bihar's economic developement.

but the current State govt led by Nitish is putting all efforts to put things in a right direction in bihar and we hope Bihar will catch-up with the rest of India

By: Rahul Salgia1

Rahul Salgia1 — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 06:34:45 +0000

this is pretty sad.

By: Brij

Brij — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 17:55:00 +0000

Actually thinking like a capitalist/libertarian makes me wonder whether education itself can be made as a lucrative business (but socially useful ) just like selling planes, arms, nuclear fuel, consumer goods etc. etc.

By: envee

envee — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 02:56:29 +0000

I understand overheads. However, under most bilateral regulations, salaries for the executive level may not be included in the budget at all. You can include salaries for community organisation staff and training, and perhaps include travel expenses for the executive level under review expenses, but nothing more. In fact, most funders expect that NGOs source their own funds when it comes to salaries – which raises its own issues. Sometimes funders provide for some salaries – but that is clearly for a particular program – and is spelled out as such. If you say a textbook costs 35 rupees – it is assumed that you have included the cost of the textbook, in fact even if you are transporting textbooks – you need to include those costs separately. Which is why it becomes harder to spot where exactly figures are inflated.

An operational budget includes costs. All sorts of costs. They might even have a Misc fund – but even that has to be usually accounted for. My problem with current accounting practice, especially with NGOs with large target numbers is that even a tiny amount added per person can add up to a lot. Was I doing my job sincerely? I don’t know. The boss seemed happy. The organisation liked the papers I was spinning out. Things always look different in retrospect, when you step back and examine your own role. But organisations have processes in place – and people get very pissed when you start bypassing standard protocols.

I don’t have a personal interest in Pratham doing well or not. I only hope that they make the best use of the funds at their disposal and not misrepresent their work to their funders. Don’t take my word for it – next time you want to donate money – make sure you scratch beyond the surface – that’s all.

By: Mytri

Mytri — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 01:17:44 +0000

Very interesting about schooling in Karnataka from Deccanherald. http://deccanherald.com/Content/Jan192008/scroll2008011947462.asp?section=updatenews

By: Rahul

Rahul — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:31:37 +0000

If you start looking at her past articles, every now and then she has these gems which are ignorant, badly researched and indulge in vapid exoticization or derogation of India.

Yes, she occasionally has crap, I agree. Is that an elephant grazing on MG road I see? But surely that nonsense isn't Somini's norm. As a quick search on NYT seems to confirm.

Oops.

By: Ardy

Ardy — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:11:30 +0000

Rahul – This article is actually one of Somini’s better ones compared to her other crap . If you start looking at her past articles, every now and then she has these gems which are ignorant, badly researched and indulge in vapid exoticization or derogation of India.

By: brown

brown — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 19:48:32 +0000

Visiting one school in Lathora is being passed on as personal research and that is what I have an issue with. If the research is thin and the article is largely based on the Pratham Survey, it should accurately describe the findings of the survey.

By: Rahul

Rahul — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 19:38:15 +0000

I am not sure about official, Balanced for me is an accurate description of the Pratham Survey the article is based on which in my personal opinion this article is not.

The article is based on a survey and personal research by the reporters. I think every statement in the article was spot on, and did not misrepresent either the letter or the spirit of the state of primary and secondary education in India.

By: brown

brown — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 19:27:29 +0000

I am not sure about official, Balanced for me is an accurate description of the Pratham Survey the article is based on which in my personal opinion this article is not.