August 03

2011

2010

2009

2012

2013

2014

2017

2015

2016

Copyright © 2008, The Arunachal Times Publications Pvt. Ltd., Siang House, Sector - E, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh - 791111, India

All rights reserved.

Editorial

 

 

 

Miuses of FDR money

The BJP Arunachal Pradesh unit today alleged that due to poor quality flood damage repair work, the Noa-Dihing River created mayhem in Mahadevpur circle. BJP claimed that flood protection work carried out under State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) has failed due to shoddy works carried out by the contractors. Party sought details of firm involved in the work and demanded action in this regard. BJP has raised a very important issue and they should ensure that those responsible for the poor quality work are strongly punished.

In Arunachal in the name of flood damage repair (FDR) work crores of money are often siphoned off by the politicians. Massive amount of fund received under State Disaster Relief Fund and National Disaster Relief Fund are distributed among MLAs and their workers. Most of the Chief Ministers have used relief fund to win over the MLAs. Unfortunately there is no accountability of the relief fund. No political parties or NGOs ever raises this issue as it is believed that they also get their share of ill-gotten relief money. Every year flood causes massive devastation across the state. Government keeps on announcing crores of money for various flood protection works. But it is never properly implemented at ground level. Due to this people continues to suffer. The misuse of FDR money should be stopped for the betterment of Arunachal Pradesh.

 

 

 

________________________________

 

 

 

Readers’ Forum

 

 

 

Work-out uniform standard for quality assessment of Health Assistants

Dear Editor,

Health Assistants are important functionaries of the primary health care system in India. Their role is supervision of field-based services among others. One Health Assistant is expected to supervise the activities of 5 to 6 Health Workers--male or female (ANM). Thus, in general, Health Assistants are the promotional posts of Health Worker (male/female i.e. ANM). As such there should be no direct recruitment for Health Assistant posts. According to IPHS guidelines, Health Assistant Male and Health Assistant Female should visit the Sub-Centre from the PHC to supervise and guide the Health Worker Male and Health Worker Female (ANM).

Clearly, Health Assistants (male and female/LHV) are to be posted at PHC level to supervise the health workers of sub-centre falling under the jurisdiction of that PHC.

However, at present, in our state, the role of Health Assistant Male is confusing because of lack of conceptual clarity among the authorities. Most of the Health Assistants also do not clearly understand their job description and the burden of work shared with other health workers under them because of recruitment of untrained persons.

Following actions clearly reflect the lack of conceptual clarity among the health authorities:

Whereas there are Health Worker Female (ANM) posts, there is no provision for Health Workers Male .post in the department. As a consequence, Health Assistant Male are doing the work of Health Worker Male as well and hence, playing double role as a Health Assistant Male as well as a Health Worker Male.

Health Worker Male should be promoted to the post of Health Assistant Male. But due to absence of Health Worker Male in the state, there is direct recruitment of Health Assistant Male.

There are already Health Assistant Female posts existing in the department in the form of Lady Health Visitors (promoted from Health Worker Female i.e. ANM), still department is directly recruiting the Health Assistant Female (all untrained) from the quota meant for Male Health Assistant. Department considers Health Assistant Female and Lady Health Visitor as different posts.

Whereas their subordinates i.e. Health Worker Female (ANM) are required to be trained for ANM course/MPHW course, untrained persons are being directly appointed to the posts of Health Assistant. How can an untrained supervisor train and guide their trained subordinates?

According to IPHS norms and job responsibilities, Health Assistant (M&F) cannot be posted at the Sub-centre instead of PHC.

The Health Assistants in our state are divided into Health Assistant (EPl) and Health Assistant (General), whereas the same is not found anywhere in India. A Health Assistant being the product of Multipurpose Health Worker should be allowed to handle both EPI and General cases.

Therefore, department should work-out uniform standard for quality assessment of Health Assistants. Immediate steps should be initiated to stop recruitment of untrained persons to the posts of Health Assistants as there are lots of trained unemployed Health Assistants in the state. There should be no direct recruitment for Health Assistant Female from HA male quota as the post is equivalent to LHV promoted from ANM. The Health Department should re-notify the job responsibilities of Health Assistant in tune with the IPHS guidelines so that the concept goes clear to all.

Yours,

Tad Lala, Itanagar

 

 

 

 

Smart classroom: a boon for education system

Dear Editor,

I wrote an article on SanSys established at Khonsa, its products and teaching techniques describing them as gainful and immensely beneficial to the students, which was published by all the leading dailies on July 18, 2016.

In my article, I mentioned about the adoption of SanSys teaching techniques and digital products by the privately run schools in Tirap district. I inadvertently made the mistake of not mentioning the many government run schools, where the maximum students from the district study wherein this method can be used. Incidentally, on 31st July-2016, I came across the news of implementation of digital Smart Classroom project by the government of Assam.

I really appreciate the brilliant and far-sighted Assam Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who always thinks ahead of his time with his extremely innovative mind for taking such a bold initiative.  

I never did in my wildest dreams expect that Assam that follows a separate Board called SEBA would adopt the fairly new digital Smart Classroom as the product the SanSys is marketing 'SmartSchool Tutor' is fully mapped with the CBSE curriculum.

The SanSys is arguably the best agency to sell the said product due to which the CBSE has approved it. However, we must accept the fact that irrespective of what Board governs a school, the basic aims and objectives of any educational institution are to educate the students in the best possible manner.

The great and novel initiative kick-started by the Assam government is praise-worthy and the students will surely reap its harvest in days to come.

Initially the project of digitization of classrooms would be implemented in 100 schools in various districts of Assam. These classrooms will be fully equipped with modern gadgets of teaching and teachers will get more time to interact with the students. Being a concerned ordinary citizen of Arunachal Pradesh, I only wish that our state government also took the digital Smart Classroom method as seriously as the Assam government is doing.

Thankfully, all the government schools in Arunachal Pradesh follow CBSE and the product that the SanSys deals in 'SanSys SmartSchool Tutor' is diligently mapped with the books followed by the students in our government schools from Class-1 to Class-XII. This digitization of our schools in the state will revolutionize the hitherto whole prosaic and redundant education system that has received a flak from the Experts thanks to perpetual poor academic result in CBSE examination.

Having interacted with the subject experts, I dare say that the 'SanSys SmartClassroom Tutor' is the future of imparting quality education. This is an aid to teachers and a tool for the students; in another word, a virtual teacher for the students.

I am seeing the difference the SanSys is doing to improve the over all education scenario of our state. The sooner our government implements this digital method, the better for all the stakeholders. In my very first article on this important topic I had said without mincing my words that ICT solution provided by the SanSys is a world- class and I have been proved right by the Assam government.

Assam in general and the students in particular are indeed blessed to have an Education Minister in Himanta Biswa Sarma who out-thinks and out-wits others by embarking on new and innovative ventures.

I hope that our government follows suit and start the digital Smart Classroom project with earnestness and a sense of purpose in the interest of the educationally backward state.

Yours,

Denhang Bosai,

DIPRO, Tirap

 

 

 

Now who will do our “dirty” jobs?

Dear Editor,

A lot of hue and cry is being witnessed revolving the "humanitarian” Child Labour(Prohibition and Amendment) Bill 2016.

That the “elite” country of attaining Mars orbit and basking in the “glory” of “Good Days” has at least recognized the presence of child labour in its midst is itself a “noble deed”! Yet the pathological critics are condemning the bill as “killer of childhood”! No, this is simply not done!

 The number of hazardous industries has been reduced to mere 3 from 83! Again the critics are complaining! Rather they should be indebted to the guardians of the nation and well-wishers of the children for not reducing the number to absolute zero!

Why don’t the “fools” try to appreciate that the owners of the industries as well as elite and middle class of India are also full-fledged Indian citizens and voters and are also possessed of human rights? So their interest should also be given a serious look! If the industries are forced to recruit adults, they would have to part with larger pay packet. Also unlike the hapless child labourers, the adults would not be exploited to the full economically and physically for the fear of repercussion. So won’t the profit margin of the industrialists witness a significant nosedive, thereby “harming the economy” of the nation? And if all children get properly educated; they would turn up as doctors, engineers, scientists or at least a Government clerk? Now who will do our “dirty” jobs --- ie dusting, cooking, cleaning the lavatory, washing or constructing glittering shopping malls by literally risking their own lives? So for the sake of maintaining the “dignity”  and “human rights” of the privileged class and seeing the profit of the industrialists, children born of poor parents and orphans should definitely be employed in  “safe” industries and left uneducated so that they can serve us ie the “enlightened” class  possessed of “God-gifted merit”! Let Kailash Satyarthi go to hell! Actually Varun Gandhi is himself a "lunatic" and this is the reason why he has dared to term the measures taken in "Child Labour(Prohibition and Amendment) Bill 2016 as “lunacy”! Gandhi is indeed the rotten apple within the “nationalist” party! He should be immediately expelled from BJP! Let him join the party of his cousins!

And just like it forms the “duty” of the empty vessel to sound much, it is natural that equally bankrupt slogans of “Skill India” and “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” will emit nothing else but mere sound! Why do the critics take these players to the gallery so seriously?

 I desire to end my rhetoric by citing a photograph which accompanied a newspaper report covering the inaugural run of the New Delhi Metro. While the "progressive" Indians, fully assured of food-attire-shelter-medicine and all other essentials-comforts-luxuries of life, went gaga over another "bright" feather in India's "colourful" cap; the photograph showed two innocent vulnerable kids, bare-footed and wearing tattered clothes, coming out from the well-furnished Metro station premises with humiliated eyes filled up with tears after being evicted from the premises. Again while commuting in the Metro Railway network of Kolkata, little boys and girls(who would have been in school at that time had our society been an ideal one); begging, aimlessly roaming or lying on the hard floor of one of the terminating stations is a very common sight. Not only do these little "Gods" get deprived from basic amenities of life, including education; just imagine the magnitude of talent and potential in these future child labourers that are getting scandalously wasted in this fashion! But as "patriotic" Indians, we will have to boast about the "Right to Education" prevailing in this country!

Yours,

Kajal Chatterjee,

Kolkata