I'm doing a round up of the news that were prominent yesterday and today. The sheer crassness is visible and it's this aspect that is being accentuated. Here I go.
(a) The Tom-tomming of a Non Event!
Since when has a recommendation for an award gained so much prominence? And that too
when that recommendation is poised to go through various levels before it reaches the selection
committee which has the final say, barring an exception when the government puts itself behind
a particular name that has acquired eligibility due to some extraordinary reason and which didn't
figure in the first consolidated list!
This time, PV Sindhu, the Badminton player who has excelled at various events richly deserves
recognition. Her recommendation for the 'Padma Bhushan', by the state, is appropriate but does
it have to be tom-tommed about so early as the name goes through the selection process? Is it
that pressure is being put on the selection committee? And what happens if for some reason, she
is angled for another award and perhaps, misses it?
In fact, in some newspapers the news made it as though she's getting it! It's bad journalism!!
(b) The Solar Commission Report is Finally Ready. Phew!
Justice Sivarajan, today, submitted his much awaited report about the solar scam to the chief
minister. The commission was appointed in Sep '13 and was expected to submit its report within
six months. After several extensions and renewed timelines, it has materialised now. Actually,
the political purpose to set up the commission has long since become redundant due to the
reasons mentioned below:-
(i) The UDF, in power then, wanted to tide over the crisis where its chief minister was
being pointed a finger at because the members of his office were directly involved.
(ii) The LDF wanted to bring down the government and fight on a strong wicket of corruption
against its opponent, in the resulting Assembly elections.
(iii) And was there a concerted effort to finish off Oommen Chandy's political career as he
seemed to have become invincible by then, within and outside the party?
The report has become a damp squib except for the juicy details of ministers, MPs, MLAs and
other politicos who'd received favours from Sarita, a household name thanks to the scam.
(c) An Unsettled Agenda.
The new admissions for the MBBS course, this year, is yet an unfinished matter. The last
meeting with the government and the managements of the colleges had decided on the banks
providing 'guarantee' for each student so that the parents did not have to shell out huge sums
from their pockets. Obviously, the nuances regarding the bank guarantees have not been sorted
out and hence, many students are unable to furnish them.
The Malabar Medical College at Calicut had kept such students out of the class which fetched
immediate reaction from the students' organisations in the form of protests that forced the
Principal to give a written undertaking that the students will not be penalised for the absence of
Bank Guarantees!.........Not a fair deal there!!
I'd like to read the problem as a whole.
(i) The Chief Minister says that education institutions should not look for profit. A noble
thought, Mr. Chief Minister.
(ii) The managements say that they've got into the business of education to augment the
opportunities for children by providing additional seats to the government quota. Since
it isn't strictly for charity, a reasonable profit is desired. They, too, have a point.
(iii) The banks seem to have a problem in issuing guarantees.
So, the problem areas have not been addressed and it's a simmering dissent. A quick action is
a must rather than using the students' unions for conflict resolution!
Having said all that, here's my question to the managements. Just like it happens on toll booths
across the highways, the levying of toll is discontinued once it's deemed that enough has been
collected to neutralise the expenditure incurred on the making of the road, can't a system be put
in place where the private colleges stop collecting their capitation after they break even on the
initial capital ploughed in?
Tailpiece.
A quiet existence, for the time being, is my present motto.
(a) The Tom-tomming of a Non Event!
Since when has a recommendation for an award gained so much prominence? And that too
when that recommendation is poised to go through various levels before it reaches the selection
committee which has the final say, barring an exception when the government puts itself behind
a particular name that has acquired eligibility due to some extraordinary reason and which didn't
figure in the first consolidated list!
This time, PV Sindhu, the Badminton player who has excelled at various events richly deserves
recognition. Her recommendation for the 'Padma Bhushan', by the state, is appropriate but does
it have to be tom-tommed about so early as the name goes through the selection process? Is it
that pressure is being put on the selection committee? And what happens if for some reason, she
is angled for another award and perhaps, misses it?
In fact, in some newspapers the news made it as though she's getting it! It's bad journalism!!
(b) The Solar Commission Report is Finally Ready. Phew!
Justice Sivarajan, today, submitted his much awaited report about the solar scam to the chief
minister. The commission was appointed in Sep '13 and was expected to submit its report within
six months. After several extensions and renewed timelines, it has materialised now. Actually,
the political purpose to set up the commission has long since become redundant due to the
reasons mentioned below:-
(i) The UDF, in power then, wanted to tide over the crisis where its chief minister was
being pointed a finger at because the members of his office were directly involved.
(ii) The LDF wanted to bring down the government and fight on a strong wicket of corruption
against its opponent, in the resulting Assembly elections.
(iii) And was there a concerted effort to finish off Oommen Chandy's political career as he
seemed to have become invincible by then, within and outside the party?
The report has become a damp squib except for the juicy details of ministers, MPs, MLAs and
other politicos who'd received favours from Sarita, a household name thanks to the scam.
(c) An Unsettled Agenda.
The new admissions for the MBBS course, this year, is yet an unfinished matter. The last
meeting with the government and the managements of the colleges had decided on the banks
providing 'guarantee' for each student so that the parents did not have to shell out huge sums
from their pockets. Obviously, the nuances regarding the bank guarantees have not been sorted
out and hence, many students are unable to furnish them.
The Malabar Medical College at Calicut had kept such students out of the class which fetched
immediate reaction from the students' organisations in the form of protests that forced the
Principal to give a written undertaking that the students will not be penalised for the absence of
Bank Guarantees!.........Not a fair deal there!!
I'd like to read the problem as a whole.
(i) The Chief Minister says that education institutions should not look for profit. A noble
thought, Mr. Chief Minister.
(ii) The managements say that they've got into the business of education to augment the
opportunities for children by providing additional seats to the government quota. Since
it isn't strictly for charity, a reasonable profit is desired. They, too, have a point.
(iii) The banks seem to have a problem in issuing guarantees.
So, the problem areas have not been addressed and it's a simmering dissent. A quick action is
a must rather than using the students' unions for conflict resolution!
Having said all that, here's my question to the managements. Just like it happens on toll booths
across the highways, the levying of toll is discontinued once it's deemed that enough has been
collected to neutralise the expenditure incurred on the making of the road, can't a system be put
in place where the private colleges stop collecting their capitation after they break even on the
initial capital ploughed in?
Tailpiece.
A quiet existence, for the time being, is my present motto.
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