The 'Ikes of March

one thousand dollars to reserve a seat in kindergarten?!?!

is it worth it? i can understand spending good money at a middle school or high school but kindergarten? can`t u teach the same stuff at home for free

shandana - lovely read as usual and thank god for you! my mother tells me i can`t possibly remember the interviews that we all went through when i was your kid`s age but i do - they talk about how hard it is on the kid to be interviewed for admission into kindergarten but i remember having a good time while my mom and dad went through the third degree.

as for the pissed off contingent that have begun to appear - i hardly need to tell you to ignore them, do I?

where is our society heading ? every institution , every one are taken on by this poision of capitalism - which is permoting the rich-poor & this medium divide which will not benefit us in future -
so whats the solution?
a) nationalize education sector
b) health care sector
obviously , this won`t happen because the best schools are owned by the elite and lootays in government ( our very own Foreign Minister is a example ) -
we need a revolution .....

I really dont understand the point of this article. Is it for you to tell us that you had a good time in India because that is surprising. I have been there and it is one of the dirtiest countries in the world or was the point that your husband is a nice boy who does not have the guts to stand up to you, or is the point that you went off on your kid because you were mad at your husband for a mistake that you both made. Maybe you wanted to tell us that you had 60000 to pay for a school when most of people in Pakistan dont have that much money. I seriously dont understand why this article is even on chowk. Do you know a lot of people who work for this website. Maybe next time you will come up with something that will not sound like grumblings fom a 5 year old kid. I am pretty sure there are writers who can write above the level of a kindergardner.

I`m a little confused by this article, perhaps because I don`t live in Pakistan. Why are parents being interviewed? is it because the demand is very high and there aren`t enough places at these private schools?

It almost sounds like the schools attitude is that they are doing you a favour by letting your child into the school. Aren`t you the customer paying for the service?

#1 by hamidm2

Yeah the revelation begins as soon as you land and confirmed during the drive into the city.

the first school i went to was open air under a tree i had to bring my own taat to sit on, have things improved since then. in the uk thousands of indian and pakistani doctors are working in restaurants living on soup kitchens, because their degrees are not recognised.

Dear Shandana

Nice article and I think things will only get worse in the future. Or maybe i am being pessimistic.

Hamidm2: there is always a possibility for a slug fest...your own statement can act as a catalyst..i have ceased to be surprised at the inanities that can cause a mudfight at Chowk.

Pleasure to read, Shandana-ji !

Let me share my experience of the Interview stuff.

When my wife and I took our 2 1/2 year old daughter for the INTERVIEW in a Nursery School in Bombay, we found bedlam. Packed into a smallish hall were literally hundreds of people - anxious parents, teachers running about with clip-boards trying to get some sort of order established, and of course the kids. The kids were clearly not prepared for this. Neither was my daughter.

She emitted a loud howl and burst into tears.

For a moment my wife and I panckied. Then I had a brilliant idea.

I had noticed that the little garden outside was empty, because everyone was inside the hall trying to be interviewed. So I picked up my bawling daughter and set off for the garden.

There was a slide, where the kid climbed steps and slid down a narrow, smooth open chute. I placed my daughter at the foot of the stairs, and off she went like a bat out of hell, tears forgotten.

She had a whale of a time for a few minutes until the teachers also managed to get people out of the hall and into the garden. Naturally, the kids came to the slide, too.

By now my daughter was the Queen of the Slide. She claimed first right, demanded that all the kids formed a queue, and even pushed away a couple of belligerent ones who tried to ``short-circuit``.

This seems to have impressed the teachers who were in the garden. They asked my daughter her name, which (fortunately) she remembered.

She was admitted without an interview.

Re: # 5

Delhiwala, why are you so saRa hua?

Shandana, excellent writing as usual. However, this peace could have used some diligent proof reading. There are a couple of glaring (but easy to commit) spelling mistakes, which should have been caught by the editors.

Having gotten that off my chest, I must compliment you on an excellent article. You have a certain style of writing which is very polished, but still comes straight from the heart. Add to that your bubbly wit, and we have a winner on our hands. Indeed, you are a breath of fresh air in an otherwise putrid environment of chowk.

There is a real problem in India (and I guess also in Pakistan) as far as primary education is concerned. Most government schools have become useless with their out-dated teaching methods and their completely unenthusiastic teaching staff. That is partially the reason why every parent wants his or her kid to get into the private schools, which are few. The competition to get into such schools is very high and consequently, the schools can practically dictate terms to parents. Also, the fees charged by these schools are exorbitant. I doubt any middle class parents can afford Rs. 60,000 per year school fees (for 12 years) in either India or Pakistan (rising salaries notwithstanding).

Both the governments of India and Pakistan need to address this crises in primary education facilities as a top priority. In India the government focus is mainly on the institutes of higher education like IITs, IIMs and RECs. Indians are quite proud of the engineers and managers that come out of these institutes - and rightly so- but the primary education infrastructure needs huge, huge improvement.

I don`t know what the solution to this problem is, but encouraging opening of more private schools while at the same time drastically improving the conditions in government schools seems like a good place to start.

I think your hubby is a good man! (Psst… most hubbies are! (The problem is usually on the other side!)) And certainly a very patient man!

I always have trouble with kids calling unknown adults aunties (or uncles). I think it is a great mistake to assign respect strictly based on age – and it is at the root of many troubles that plague our culture.

When I started reading your article, it appeared to be moving a bit like Delhiwala’s trip to Las Vegas (you know the sort that reads – “..woke up in the morning, went to bathroom, brushed teeth, then had a cup of tea,…..”) but you recovered well.

But Dilli does have a point – as he appoints himself to point out, your point is not well made!

[…because we knew lots of people who sent their kids their, and the boys best friend from playschool would be shifting there in August too.]
Your writing style still seems to exhibit a few symptoms of the exhaustion from the heat of exertion!

PS: sorry to get here late!

Shandana,
A great read, Looks like urban education in Pakistan is as expensive as it is in India.

#1 by hamidm2 on March 30, 2006 11:06am PT

````....... by the way, did you check out any of the madrassas in karachi ?....... they offer free board and lodging ...````

You have just created one more avenue for the Indo-Pak slug match, haven`t u? (Madrassas offer free education, but it is a bigoted one.. teaches death to Infidels.. No madrassas encouraged in India.. hence we are superior) ;;;-)

Thanks,
Avkrishna

And the point of this article is...................




heloooooooo....

My dad rode his bicycle from Kharar to Ambala along with 2 Tayas every day to attend the high school. He came to Delhi and cleared the govt service exam and retired as Very Senior Govt employee.

My dad wore a Pajama and shirt and run-down turban everyday. Oh, and during winters they carried a 12 bore shotgun on the bicycle in Ambala, just in case....

You people think too much. Just put the kids in any school and spend time with them at home.

Ms Minhas: How can you be a Muslim is still a mystery to me? In my school the biggest badmaash(good friend of mine) was a Minhas Jamindaar from Sangrur. You should drop this lastname, you are no Minhas...

Bibi,

Whats the relationship between India trip and school interview?

I remember our first school interview.....

I was in pajamas....my grandfather in a Kachha and banain....we went into this school.....the `principal` was tidying the school on weekend.....a few questions asked....my grandpa rejected the school.......the principal was scared of my grandpa during the interview....

how about this one....

we were envious of our paindoo cousing who always stood first or second in class.....when we visited his pind, found out that there were only 2 students in his class......the whole school was under one big tree......

how about this one......

my grandmas went to schools where their sisters in law taught.....and they got slapped by the sisters in law for disobedience......they gave up studies.....

talk about simpler days.....where`ve they gone??????

or another one when an uncle yelled `ter maa di, bhen di....` to his `maaster` and ran out of school......

or another uncle who cheated after threatening his master with knife.....and still failed....!

hamidm2:
Wait a while; you wouldn`t be disappointed. The essay does provide a slight opening for the flood of Indo-Pakistani politics to barge in. The family went to India for the vacation, didn`t they? That should be enough.
The essay is good to read.
Rs 60,000! Wow, this explains why there is no scarcity of students for the madrassas.
Mohammad Gill