Address at the Launching of Ladakh Model of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Leh, Ladakh

Learning gives Creativity

"Small aim is a crime"

I am indeed delighted to participate in the launching of the Ladakh Model of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan organized by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council. I understand that Leh-Ladakh has significantly improved the educational level of the region through the education reform programme called Operation New Hope (ONH) which has been run by local members in collaboration with Students Educational Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL). Due to this initiative, I understand that the pass percentage in matriculation has risen from 5% in 1998 to 50% in 2005. I am happy that the members of the Hill Development Council are launching the second phase of operation new hope called Ladakh Model of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to further strengthen the educational base of the Ladakh region.

The aim in the second phase should be to increase the pass percentage in matriculation from the present 50% to nearly 100% within the next five years. Also the programme can focus on ensuring that there is no drop out of children before completing the matriculation in this region. Simultaneously, there is a need to include entrepreneurship and vocational training to the students at the secondary level, so that they can become entrepreneurs based on the core competence of the region such as sheep breeding, wool extraction, pre-loom processing, conversion of wool into wollen textiles and garments in addition to fulfilling the dreams of some youths of becoming engineers, doctors, managers and administrators. Similarly, the vocational training could also be done for handicrafts area. The success of Operation New Hope programme depends upon the teacher. Hence I would like to talk on the subject ?Learning Gives Creativity?

Mission of the Teacher

School is the environment where the character of the child is getting shaped. The prime learning period for the children is five to seventeen years of age. The student spends approximately 25,000 hours in the school campus. Of course, at home, love and affection are imparted but again most of the time of the day is spent in preparing school?s homework and studying, eating, playing and sleeping. Hence the school hours for children are the best time for learning and need best of environment, mission oriented learning with value system. I still hear the echo from Bestolozzy, a Greek teacher's saying, "give me a child for seven years. Afterwards, let the God or devil take the child. They cannot change the child." That is the great confidence of the great teacher. What a golden mission for the teachers of great character and value system in our schools in the country!

Education of the under-privileged children is essential not only for them and their parents but also for the development of the country. If they drop out, it is indeed dropout of the progress of the country. Providing education to such children and motivating them to pursue them is a major social responsibility. The teachers have to develop the necessary attitude to bring up the children through innovative methods of teaching suiting the background and compulsion of such under-privileged children who are as much gifts of God. In view of the shortage of teachers, can I moot the idea whether we can induce housewives and many people who have retired from service to take up the task of education?

Elevating the young minds

While I was in college, I remember the lectures given by highest authority of the Jesuit institution Rev Father Rector Kalathil of St. Joshep's college, Trichirappalli, Tamilnadu. Every week on Monday, he will take class for an hour. He used to talk about good human beings, present and past, and what makes a good human being. In this class he used to give lectures on personalities such as Buddha, Confucius, St. Augustine, Califa Omar, Mahatma Gandhi, Einstein, Abraham Lincoln including some scientific personalities and moral stories linked to our civilizational heritage. He also used to talk about great personalities living in the father?s lodge and who had made contribution with values in the service of the people. It is essential in the secondary schools and colleges to arrange a lecture by a great teacher of the institution once in a week for one hour on India?s civilizational heritage. This class can be called as a Moral Science Class. That will elevate the young minds to love the country, to love the other human beings and elevate the young to higher planes.

Now I would like to give a message to the students.

Creativity commences in children with primary education

I would suggest that the creativity has to be built-in the primary schooling of children in the age group of 5 to 11. This is the period the learning time of our children should be devoted to creative lessons like building model aircraft, rockets, spacecrafts, cars, tractors, chemical experiments, electronic devices, computers, paintings, sculptures, sports music and dance. That means our present syllabus has to be reduced and the learning process should concentrate on creative lessons and creative products in the class rooms. Can we bring down the bag weight of the primary school students? Here, I would like to discuss a computer assisted education model which I have seen in Karnataka.

In this model accelerated learning through computers has been used in many government schools in Karnataka in partnership with the Azim Premji Foundation. In this system of education, reduction in dropouts is being realized through active participation of parents, teachers and a social organization in the region. This technique can be adopted in Leh-Ladakh region, so that drop outs at middle and secondary school level can be further reduced. Recently, in the Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh, I inaugurated a programme called Head Start where the children are introduced to computers right at Class-I. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Programme may like to consider introduction of such programmes in Ladakh area. Now I would like to discuss about creativity among children.

Creativity

I was thinking about creativity.

1. How it is created?

2. What is the source?

3. Is it genetic? Or

4. By learning, can it be created?

Dear Children, can you tell me three important events of 20th century that changed the human life in this planet? Any one of you?

CHARLES DARWIN, who propounded the theory of "Natural Selection". He made us think differently about how the evolution of human being took place. Thomas Alva Edison, gave application of electricity, which revolutionized every field of science and technology and human life.

Mahatma Gandhi, launched Ahimsa Dharma movement against racial discrimination in South Africa and fought against British rule in India through non-violence. These three events of 20th century are the results of creative mind.

Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work. Like, Sir CV Raman looked at the sea and the sky, and questioned why the sea should be blue? This led to the birth of Raman Effect, he found the blue of the sea was due to the molecular scattering of light and was not a case of reflection of the sky in water as most people imagined.

One of the major breakthroughs in science in the 20th century that had an everlasting impact on the human kind is the most celebrated work of Einstein. Einstein explained, for the first time in 1905, the principle of the inertia of energy as a universal law. The famous energy equation E=MC2 was given to the world. This equation has become the basis for converting matter into energy ? giving birth to a new avenue called the nuclear energy for producing electricity to light up our cities and villages and becomes the prime force for our industrial sector.

After this event, Einstein looked up to the space and saw millions and millions of galaxies and he noticed that we belong to one of the smallest galaxy. All of us know that in the smallest galaxy, sun is the smallest star. In this smallest galaxy, we have 10 planets and the planet in which the human race lives is an insignificant planet. But yet we have all types of lives, including human life. Creative astronomers like Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler had given a new dimension to the world of astronomy. Today we take it for granted that earth is a globe, orbiting around the sun, and the sun orbits in the Milky Way. We are not alone. Human race is not a unique race in the universe. Many technological advancements we have today are the outcome of scientific exploration of scientists of earlier time. At no time, man was beaten by problems. He strives continuously to subjugate impossibility and then succeeds. This quality has to be imbibed among children, right at the formative years.

You are fortunate to be in a beautiful atmosphere of hills, valley, rivers and snow. This is a beautiful environment for promoting creativity among the children. We have to cultivate a habit of observing the nature and enjoy its beauty. This will provide an incentive for all the children to become creative. Dear students, do you know, the Ladakh region where you are, the world's highest observatory for infrared studies is located in Digpa Ratsa Ri, Hanle, at an altitude of 4500 meters above sea level. Prof. Ramnath Cowshik has established this Henle remotely controlled observatory with a 2-m optical infrared telescope. This will help to study the galaxies and new stars. In addition, it enables continuous monitoring of Active Galactic Nuclei.

Now, I would like to answer some of the questions asked by the students of Ladakh.

Question and Answer Session

1. I have heard that in Bhutan the King sent the crown Prince to a Government school. Similarly, I am told that in many countries Prime Ministers send their own children to the same school where common peoples children go. Do you think there will be a day when in our country also big leaders, officers and teachers will make the Government Schools so good that they can send their own children in Government Schools?

-Ms.Tsering Choron, 6th Standard Govt Middle School, Leh

Ans: There are good government schools, like KVs, Navodaya Vidyalayas situated in many parts of the country. Progressively it has been found that the results from Kendriya Vidyalayas and Government Schools have been improving and they are becoming competitive with private schools. With this situation there will be no difference in education between a private school and government school.

2. Did you find your life more productive as a scientist or as the President of India?

- Ms Urgan Chorol, 12th Standard Govt Boys Higher Secondary School

Ans: Any task you have to love. Then only you can perform. Each task has a specific function to perform. I have to acquire the skills needed for the particular job. As a scientist I had prepared a road map for transforming India into a developed nation by 2020. As the President I am marketing the programme to the political system and administrative system of the country for implementation.

3. Ladakh remains cut-off from the rest of the country for six months in a year. Could you please tell us when will Ladakh be connected all through the year with its motherland?

- Ms Asma Qayoon, 11th standard Govt Boys Higher Sec School, Leh

Ans: Providing physical connectivity to all the remote areas of the country is the priority task. In Bharat Nirman Programme and the Prime Minister?s Reconstruction programme electronic and physical connectivity is the focus. Both central and state governments are working to connect Leh and Srinagar with all weather roads. Very soon Srinagar will have an international airport. Also, Leh will have an a modern airport with instrument landing system. The Telecom Department is working to improve the tele-density. All these actions will ensure that Ladakh will remain connected all through the year with rest of India.

4. Amidst all evils like militancy, poverty and casteism, do you still hope to get your Vision 2020 translated in to reality?

- Tsering Morup, 11th Standard Govt Boys Higher Sec School, Leh

Ans: J&K region needs peace. All efforts has to be made to bring prosperity through education with value system, and employment generation. As you are aware few years back, the people below poverty line in our country was 26%. Today it has come down to 22%. Similarly, progress has taken place in many areas such as agriculture, ICT, Pharma, education, healthcare, automobiles and many other sectors of the economy. If we continue our progress and increase the momentum of growth we can certainly realize the goal of becoming a developed nation before 2020.

5. Why modern education does not give importance to vocational trainings? If so why literate people mostly prefer opting for Government jobs?

- Dechen Angmo, 4th Standard Govt Middle School, Chushot

Ans: There are two parts to education. One is higher education leading to research. Another is development of world class skills through vocational training. Both are required for growth of our economy. The education system must develop either higher education with research capability or possess world class skills enabling him to compete in the world market. Also I am suggesting entrepreneurship to become part of the syllabus both in the secondary education and university education. Also the banking system has to be young entrepreneur friendly. This will lead to creation of small enterprises by the youth. Then we will have employment generators rather than employment seekers.

6. There are many disabled children like me in Ladakh;many of them do not get a good education. As the President of our country, what can you do to help all of us to get a good education?

- Punchok Dolma, 10th Standard Solar Course SECMOL

Ans: Recently I was addressing an award ceremony for fulfilling corporate social responsibility. One of the awards went to a industry called Sakthi Masala. This industry has systematically trained and nurtured differently abled children and adults, provided them vocational skills and finally they employed them in the industry. Large number of differently abled persons are employed by this company. I am suggesting many of our enterprises to follow this model. Recently I have come across young boy Shri Siddarth a person with cerebral palsy. He has studied, come out extremely successful and today he is working with the ABN Amro as a Manager. Also the Government has a friendly policy towards differently abled children, including provision of employment opportunities. I have recited a few verses specially for the differently abled children:

To that gathering, I recited a small poem, which runs like this:

We are all God's children,

Our minds are stronger than diamond.

We will win, win, win with our mighty will.

God is with us who can be against!

On hearing this, a boy from Iran by name Mustafa came to me, who didn't have both legs and was fitted with artificial limbs. He thrust a paper in my hand. He had written a beautiful poem titled "Courage", in Persian language. It reads like this:

I don't have both legs

But I possess great will power to learn and live

My mind says: Don't weep, don't weep

For, I need not bow even in front of a King.

I was really moved by the positive thinking of that boy. It shows his courage to face the life with optimism. I wish all of you to carry this message to make your life meaningful.

Dear children I have designed a ten point oath for you. Let us take the oath.

Conclusion: Ten Point Oath

1. I will pursue my education or the work with dedication and I will excel in it.

2. From now onwards, I will teach at least 10 persons to read and write those who cannot read and write.

3. I will plant at least 10 saplings and shall ensure their growth through constant care.

4. I will visit rural and urban areas and permanently wean away at least 5 persons from addiction and gambling.

5. I will constantly endeavor to remove the pain of my suffering brethren.

6. I will not support any religious, caste or language differentiation.

7. I will be honest and endeavour to make a corruption free society.

8. I will work for becoming an enlightened citizen and make my family righteous.

9. I will always be a friend of the mentally and physically challenged and will work hard to make them feel normal, like the rest of us.

10. I will proudly celebrate the success of my country and my people.