Protect our educated youths.

Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac in a statement said that the apprehensions being aired over the unification of retirement date for government employees were baseless.
I could not agree with him. Whatever be the minister’s claim there would be losses of increments and promotions to some sections of the employees. The pertinent point is Minister’s proposal of unification of retirement age to March 31 is a weird suggestion harming the prospects of the educated unemployed youths. The youths are being lost their opportunity for entry into service because of non-retirement in Government departments. It is a recurring complaint from the KPSC that many of the department vacancies are not reported in time by the Department heads and this approach will continue even after the fresh order from the Government for immediate report of vacancies.

Yet again extending service and all benefits at a higher rate to the existing senior employees will bring large financial burden to the State in the long run. A marginal gain of Rs 1000 crore in the current financial year by withholding pension payment of the employees would bring huge debt in years to come. . This would shake the financial stability of the State.

The youth organizations which are bound to oppose the unwarranted move of the Finance Minister are busy with other ridiculous matters such as shielding Mammootty in his shooting location elsewhere. It is now the duty of the media to put on focus that the youths get their due share in employment and in most cases it is only media that comes as a universal remedy for the affected.

For me it appears as a wonder that none in Kerala Cabinet care the educated youths. If pension payment is a colossal problem for the Government, then why can’t it issue ‘shoot at sight order’ on pensioners. Many of the decisions of the Finance Minster are bizarre and not in the true spirit of the progress of the State. My request is the Kerala government should collect opinions from wide cross-sections of the people in the State before implementing bizarre decisions of self proclaimed intellects.

K A Solaman

Parent-teacher counseling could avoid the worst.

Teachers are human, and sometimes will not be in the vein of certain students without a valid reason. This is same as love at first sight. Some teachers see the face of their students as their own children’s and some others see faces of their enemies in students. There may be psychological enlightenment in this phenomenon and in most cases students are the worst losers. However, occasionally the loss of the teacher is also heavy as that is what happened in the Delhi school where not only the teacher but the Headmaster also was suspended. The mental agony brought to them if they are true teachers who always delight in the progress of their student, is beyond any reckon. But ironically all are seen happy in criticizing the teacher. The sad demise of the student would have been averted if the teacher was given sufficient prior information about the health condition of the student. And in that case the responsibility of the parents cannot be ruled out.

Here in Kerala too punishment such as standing on sunlight or continuous running a kilometer was imposed, of course, not for class room lessons but for NCC. While I was a student in Pre-degree classes I noticed that if cadet did not turn out in time for parade he was asked to run a km with a heavy rifle in his hand. No one was spared from this punishment but none was seen annoyed as it was a part of that education.

Present day parents are very much concerned about their children. If a teacher in LP school asks a student to clean his teeth using mango tree leaf, as did in schools 30-40 years back, the parents will not tolerate the teacher. Time has changed and teachers’ job has become a dicey one. I could not blame that hapless teacher who imposed a past and crude punishment on her student taking her to death. The teacher might have been trying to pick up the child to progress but it ended in despair. The Delhi school incident is not an isolated case. To avoid replication parent-teacher counseling could be thought of in such situations. As practiced in NAAC accredited colleges health club can be formed in schools under the supervision of a teacher with skill in first aid treatment to avoid casualties.

K A Solaman