Opinion No quarter

The idea of private school funding for the education of 25 per cent of economically weak students appears noble,but there are certain inherent flaws...

January 15, 2009 11:23 PM IST First published on: Jan 15, 2009 at 11:23 PM IST

This refers to Ila Patnaik’s ‘State of the blackboard’ (IE,January 13). The idea of private school funding for the education of 25 per cent of economically weak students appears noble,but there are certain inherent flaws in the approach. The approach,based on the assumption that the private schools cater to the affluent sections of the society only,is not entirely correct. Though there are many schools,particularly in the big cities,that exclusively cater to the richer sections of society,the majority of them deal with students from humbler backgrounds. Making them pay for the 25 per cent would result in their large-scale exodus thereby defeating the entire concept of universal education.

— Pranav Mahajan Jammu

Empower CAG

This refers to Dhiraj Nayyar’s ‘Blowing the whistle’ and Sreenivas Janyala’s ‘As Andhra Pradesh govt went out of its way to please Raju,family acquired over 17,000 acres’ (IE,January 14). Lax enforcement of laws results in the kind of wound Satyam’s Ramalinga Raju and his family have inflicted on the image of India. Add to this the law’s legendary delays and you get a web that is difficult to easily unravel. For our democratic governments,both at the Centre in the states,the Comptroller and Auditor General is an inconvenient institution,and so their accountability to Parliament and respective State Legislatures and the electorate at large is a joke. That is how we have large-scale corruption by politicians and bureaucrats and large-scale tax evasion and black money holding by businessmen.

— Prasad Malladi

Nidadavole

Looking forward

This refers to Charmy Harikrishnan’s ‘Look kiya jaye’ (IE,January 13). ‘Slumdog’ is a really rich tribute to Mumbai underdog’s rags-to-riches story and will be remembered for more than winning a host of awards. Due credit should be given to all those involved and luck at the upcoming Oscars.

— Suman Kukal Chandigarh

Together we stand

These are economically dire times and given events such as the Satyam scandal and the recent strikes,it appears as though these events are slashing a deep gouge in the Indian economy. Although there is no relation between these events,they have both affected the economic spirit of the country similarly. The effects of the economic meltdown cannot be curtailed till we see responsibility from both the government and economic players.

— Anuvrat Arya New Delhi

White light

This refers to ‘Board of control’ (IE,January 12). The Satyam scam has not only ruined the fates of a huge number of shareholders,employees,debtors and customers but has also tarnished the image of corporate governance in our country in the eyes of the international business community. It is difficult to believe that irregularities of such huge dimensions could have escaped the auditor’s scrutiny. The government’s appointment of three experts in an effort at reconstruction can be a ray of hope.

— Bhaskar Sen Ghaziabad