This refers to the article “Right to principals” (May 17). Any effort to spread education has to begin with numbers and enrolment. Therefore, there is nothing wrong if government policy aims to achieve this objective. With mass education becoming a reality, quality is bound to suffer. This is not to justify the pathetic state of education succinctly brought out by the article. Yet, while it is important to empower school principals, the article misses out on certain relevant points. What about the quality of teachers? In this context, it is instructive to look at the teacher-student ratio. Further, the school curriculum should be reoriented to impart skills for effective participation. This aspect automatically leads us to explore a fundamental issue: what to teach? Some education experts have traced the ills of the current system to politicisation. If all the participants in the system give a hundred per cent, India’s education system would improve to a great extent even with 100 per cent political interference.
K V Rao, Bangalore
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