Read the latest Doon School Weekly (PDF). The issue includes a look back at the first issue of The Doon School Weekly, Roving Eye, an article on the IB English course and a story about Sundays.

Posted at 5:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Most people will agree that you don't need to be an expert to realise the problems plaguing education in India: That our system emphasises learning by rote, that most schools do not encourage a child to nurture and develop his/her true potential, that India faces an acute shortage of quality teachers, that there is very little cutting edge research happening in the country. Read this Rediff India article on education in India.

But when these truths are pressed home by a distinguished panel, like they were on Sunday as part of a session at the ongoing 16th Asian Corporate Summit organised by the Asia Society, you hope that the powers that be would take note and take action.

At a Summit marked by an overwhelming bullishness about India, the session on Education Reform: India's Path Towards World Class Status was one of the few warning bells.

Mahipal University Managing Director Gopal Rajagopalan, the moderator of the discussion, outlined what he called the "10 million problem."

Every year, 10 million students passed out of the 10 + 2 system of school education in the country, he said. Traditional brick and mortar systems of higher education could not cope with such a large number of entrants every year. It is in this context that distance learning and Internet institutions could have a crucial role to play, suggested Rajagopalan.

Doon School Headmaster Kanti Bajpai stressed the need for curricular reform. India's solution to everything was to expand the curriculum and place an inhuman burden on students, he pointed out.

Institutions of higher learning must be made less bureaucratic and less hierarchic, he pointed out. India did not have the much-needed culture of counselling for its students, he added.

And he said the emphasis on science and commerce was strangling scholarship in the humanities. He urged the government to take immediate steps to rescue humanities education in the country.

Ashok Mishra, director, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, agreed that even the elite IITs did not have world class research happening. Most bright students pursuing higher research were doing so abroad, he pointed out

But the solution was not more IITs, he said. "Nobody asks England to build more Cambridges," he said. Instead, other institutions must come up to world standards, he added.

Asha Singh, director, education and research, Sesame India, said for their television programme the biggest challenge was how to reflect the starkly contrasting realities of schoolchildren in India. She pressed home the point that there were humongous differences in the quality of education being imparted in schools across India.

Schools must give students a sense of belonging, she said.

Shaheen Mistri, founder of Akansha, a non governmental organisation working to educate underprivileged children, spelt out how schools were a nightmare for most children who could not afford to study in private schools.

The proposed quota system in schools was debated, with arguments for and against making it compulsory for private schools to admit a certain number of poor children.

And the panel was unanimous that teacher training needed giant strides, that India must figure out ways to encourage pedagogy. And that it must do so right now.

Posted at 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rumor has it that the Wall Street Journal is planning to do an article on The Doon School and its alums. Have you heard anything? Let us know if you have or if you see the article.

Posted at 5:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Kanti Bajpai was quoted in the Times of India talking about Bush visit to India. To quote, International relations expert Kanti Bajpai says that chemistry between political leaders always plays some role in decision-making. "But," he adds, "if national interests are not aligned, then no amount of personal chemistry can bring them to an agreement."

Not just events, even chemistry makes history
Times of India Network

NEW DELHI: Last Wednesday when US President George Bush embarked from Air Force One and shook hands with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, everyone immediately noticed the chemistry between the two leaders. The body language was comfortable, the rapport easy. Whatever the limiting factor in the relationship between the two countries, Bush and Singh did not appear to be impeded by it.

Without overstating the importance of personal rapport in clinching of the nuclear deal, modern political history shows that positive vibes between global leaders too has played a crucial role in shaping history. Good personal equations between Nehru-Mountbatten, Nixon-Mao, Sadat-Begin, Reagan-Gorbachev were fundamental to the political decisions they eventually took.

International relations expert Kanti Bajpai says that chemistry between political leaders always plays some role in decision-making. "But," he adds, "if national interests are not aligned, then no amount of personal chemistry can bring them to an agreement."

Security expert K Subrahmanyam says personal rapport is not crucial. "But it helps," he adds. Bajpai believes that personal chemistry can put a mutually benefiting issue on the fast track. "On the contrary, lack of personal chemistry can impede relationships," he says.

...For instance, it is well known that Indira Gandhi's visit to White House in 1971 was a diplomatic debacle. The meeting with US president Richard Nixon was characterised as "a dialogue of the deaf." Nixon is said to have made her wait for 45 minutes. At the official dinner, the two leaders didn't even try to talk.

Consequently, India tilted more towards Soviet Union. It could be argued that Nixon's cold shoulder was more a matter of policy than a personal slight. But undeniably the poor rapport between the two added to the schism.

Again, the Gandhi family's impeccable rapport with Yasser Arafat went a long way in establishing a great relationship between India and PLO. Arafat referred to Indira Gandhi as his "sister".

Later he called Rajiv Gandhi his "brother". No surprise, when the rest of the world treated the Palestine Liberation Organisation and its leader Yasser Arafat as pariahs, India allowed the PLO to open an office in Delhi.

...For some world leaders, instant chemistry is important. On first meeting Russian president Vladimir Putin, Bush famously said, "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul."

Personal rapport between heads of state is nothing new. The special bond between Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt forged during WWII laid the foundation for ties between the US and UK.

Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher showed that a strong friendship could be translated into effective cooperation. The extraordinary bonding between the two reinvigorated the flagging Anglo-American relationship.

Reagan wrote to Thatcher in 1994, days after she delivered a speech in Washington at a formal 83rd birthday tribute for the retired US president: "I feel the Lord has brought us together for a profound purpose, and that I have been richly blessed for having known you." That, probably, was more than chemistry.

Posted at 7:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

All ex-Doscos (plus spouses, girlfriends etc) are invited for the annual DSOBS Delhi Chapter dinner to be held on March 4, 2006 at the Delhi Golf Club. Invitation cards for the dinner must be purchased prior to the event. Cards will be available ALL day Saturday (March 4) at the Central Secretariat grounds. Come and support your house team. (Food & drinks available at the ground).

CRICKET DETAILS:
Venue: Central Secretariat grounds, opp Nehru Park, Chanakya Puri, New Delhi
Date & Time: March 4, 2006. Reporting time 9 a.m.
Format: 20 overs a side with a game in the morning and one in the afternoon. Coloured clothing, White balls, black sight-screens.

DINNER DETAILS:
Venue: Delhi Golf Club, Dr. Zakhir Hussain Marg, New Delhi
Date & Time: 8 p.m onwards on March 4, 2006
Cost: Rs. 600 per head - inclusive of drinks & dinner.

Invitation cards maybe purchased from any of the following:

Central/West Delhi: Indrave Mann, ph:98110-33865, e-mail: ismann@progressive.in
South Delhi: Nalin Khanna, ph:98100-28127, e-mail: nalin.khanna@panbusiness.de
Gurgaon: Vikas Attri, ph: 98100-61821, e-mail: vikas_attri@hotmail.com
Noida: Asheet Lanba, ph: 98116-06437, e-mail: asheet_lanba@rediffmail.com

Posted at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The annual Old Boys’ get-together is being held once again on Saturday, the 8th April ’06 at La Place Park Inn, Lucknow at 8 P.M.

The Inter House Old boys Tournaments are proposed to be held in the last week of March. Kindly inform the Old Boy incharge latest by the 16th of March 2006.

Golf R. N. Singh 306 K (1955-60) 0522 2208181
Bridge Amarjit Singh “Kaku” 141 H (1961-66) 93359 17607
Squash Vivek Bhargava 10 TA (1976-83) 93359 01365

We propose to have a ‘Pagal Gymkhana’ in order to involve our wives and Welhamites. We therefore need your active participation in the Inter House Pillow Fights / Tug of war etc. Do inform all others and let’s make it an exciting and memorable weekend. (After all we have been recognised as amongst the 10 best Alumni Associations in the world!)

Regards

PRADIP NARAIN RAHUL PRASAD
431 TA (1969-73) 29 HA (1976-83)
0522- 2238526 94150 19397

Posted at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)