Necessities like schools, hospitals etc shouldn’t be vulnerable to profit making
By Mohammad Mus’ab Tali
THERE’S a rapid trend of advertisements and banners being raised at every nook and corner. All is well until one desires to expand commercial establishments like hotels and restaurants, malls, stores, warehouses and so on via all such means.
What surprises me are the rapid advertisements of education institutes, hospitals etc. Such institutes are increasing in number as are undergoing fission. Every institute is in a race to establish more and more branches in different areas, irrespective of the quality being offered. And with the unexpected mushrooming of such institutes, it becomes liable to them to go for advertisement to promote their new ventures – thus flooding the entire print and social media space.
Privatization is a must in the modern day world. The public can not wholly and solely depend on government resources for their daily living. To overcome this extra burden, privatization comes to a rescue. For it provides opportunity to hundreds to meet daily needs by employing them in various sectors. But complete dependence on privatization is monopolizing things by taking a mode of rapid commercialization.
Everything, if brought under the purview of privatization (usually leading to massive commercialization with time), can be, but there should be impunity for the basic necessities of millions of people like food, schools, hospitals etc.
Food makes one’s survival possible. A stomach remaining hungry is a curse for any system. Every seed sown by a farmer is a hope for hundreds. It’s the basis of sustenance.
Education is a right of every child. It’s not merely about enrollment in a school rather it is providing quality education there, involving a procedure that is not as simple as we’ve taken it. Education is hope for millions to make a quality change for generations to come. A living with ignorance is living life nothing more than that of an animal.
Health facilities serve as a guardian. They act as saviors of human lives. In absence of such facilities, humans are always surrounded with an invisible threat.
The commercialization of
The commercialization of these fields has a dreadful effect, which is so subtle that it is often unrealized. By putting free services offered in government institutes at back foot, services in the private sector are sparkling and achieving their peak.
The day to day happenings are an eye opener. Recently, when one Deputy Commissioner visited one of the district hospitals, he found most of the staff absent; many of whom were later on found busy with their private practices. What does it imply? Simply private sector services are thriving at the cost of utilization of human resources, which is actually meant to offer services in government institutes.
Likewise, during my Higher Secondary stage, I received coaching from some well known coaching centers of the valley and the staff there was mostly borne from Government Higher Secondary Schools and Government colleges. One day, one of our college teachers said, “my conscience everyday curses me, because the time I am teaching here (coaching center), I should’ve been actually teaching students in my college, from where I am receiving a hefty monthly salary”. His conscience did seem hurt, but not to an extent that could’ve stopped him from getting lured by mazuma.
Happenings like these in any field are doubling the magnitude of loss incurred – first the human resource meant for providing quality services in government institutes is turning in vain; and second the employment opportunity available in private institutes for many deserving candidates are also being occupied up.
After passing my High School level, I was enrolled in one of the well known private higher secondary schools of the valley. But the irony is that I still had to join some coaching centre. The reason is obvious. The curse many of us see in winter. What would a student do for months at home, that too at the beginning of the school session?
Everything continues in winter then why not school work? Snow is not a curse. Wisdom lies in creating a balance with this beautiful element of nature by using modern tools, so our daily activities/ services won’t suffer anymore. Whatever,you can do in your individual capacity for benefitting people with many available “free of cost services” do that. Don’t wait for the system. You are the system!
- The author can be reached at [email protected]
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