Some Thoughts on Education and Immigration

I have been thinking of writing an article for Posoowa magazine for sometime now, primarily on education (development) and illegal immigration (security) - in Assam.

Now the question is whether there is really something new to be said.

I suppose not.

Education

Everyone knows that Assam has one of the highest teacher-absentee rates in India and is not quite the most literate state in India. It is one of the less achieving states in terms of metrics such as student enrollment, retention, and graduation rates. At a micro level, the state has nothing to boast of (when compared nationally) in terms quality of high schools (Dehradun in UP being a famous center) or colleges (the better known being in the metros for liberal arts or in South India for engineeering). Even the well-meaning Infosys chief Narayan Murthy said that Assam needs to improve its quality of high schools and have more of English speaking graduates - who can work in call centers in Guwahati - and only when such man-power is available that higher level info-tech businesses can be established - as in Hyderabad or Bangalore currently.

Illegal Immigration from Bangladesh

Of course, many would say that given the corruption in governement and the ease with which ration cards and other citizenship documents are available in India (by greasing the palms of the willing), it would be a futile effort to try to nab illegal immigrants and send them back to Bangladesh. However, every journey begins with a single step. Once you start moving along, new ways emerge and there is no perfect thief either. You have to be the Sherlock Holmes; then you can tackle every big or small illegal activist.

I wonder why Assam’s Congress government wants to go against the Supreme Court in the matter of IMDT repeal (http://news.indiainfo.com/2005/07/12/1207illegal-migrants.html)? Hopefully, it has some reasonable or logical argument. I wonder what it is. I gather it is something to do with the cutoff date for migrants from Bangladesh to be declared illegal - either 1951 or 1971 — both dates seems pretty old. How about the current infiltration being stopped? What is the government doing about it?

Some might like to read this article of Politics of Infiltration - pertaining to Assam : http://www.saag.org/%5Cpapers16%5Cpaper1557.html

Any comments or answers?

Umesh Sharma
Ed.M. Harvard ’05
Washington DC