IF YOU WERE MADE THE PRESIDENT FOR ONE DAY

INTRODUCTION Rome was not built in a day. A very common saying goes like this. Similarly, changes cannot be made in one day. A day is not sufficient to change the corrupted scenario in a country like India. I would like to bring a change to my country in a few spheres , so I would just like to put down in words what changes I would like to bring if I were made the President, rather than If I were made the President for one day.

In a country like India, people like to blame the person next to him for any kind of corruption, miseries or dissatisfaction. They would blindly put a blame on the ministers or the top officials, but when asked about any kind of alternatives or suggestions, they do not have an answer. We have to first change this scenario. They should themselves firmly believe what changes do they want in their own country. Hence, during the first stage it is quite necessary to know about the areas of concern for the citizens of our country, then prioritize those issues according to national interest, and then make an agenda to put those issues in the right place.

MY WORKS AS A PRESIDENT Being a citizen of India, I too find many problematic areas regarding many policies that are being followed in our country. I would like to highlight those areas and would like to tell what changes I would like to see in those spheres and how I would like to see those changes being brought into effect, which would finally mean that those are the things I would like to see if I become the president.

First and foremost, being a student right now, I am not quite satisfied with the educational policy that is prevalent in our country, predominantly in our state. Education is more of a political issue nowadays, just to gather sentiments of a section of people, sacrificing the quality of education and also the future of students at a very early stage. Many educational boards have been heard to withdraw the concept of passing or failing a student upto secondary level. I dont find any good reason behind this move as this will not develop a competitive attitude among the students, which is quite necessary in todays

scenario. Many so-called educational philosophers, many of whom are ministers justify that this will instil an urge among the students to study and this in turn will increase our literacy rate. Now my question is what is the use of such a literacy rate when the students get promoted even when they are not qualifying in the exams? Isnt this a political issue and political interest? This is the stage when the future generation can rectify themselves at the grass root level. But such an educational policy is helping develop the roots, but not strengthening them.

The second issue that annoys me pretty much, and which is quite related to the first issue, is the reservation policy in higher education as well as in professional lives. Few questions need to be answered before talking about this issue. Is higher education any kind of food item that you will keep on distributing among your youth regardless of any kind of eligibility issues? Doesnt higher education leads to the upliftment of a countrys image in the world arena? Does a profession need knowledgeable people or do they need people from minorities? If these questions be answered, then we can say our reservation policy is a failure. I do not find any logic behind a policy which allows a student from a minority, who has scored 70% in his higher secondary, to study in an IIT with a lower cut-off, and barring a student from general caste, who has scored a 90% in his higher secondary and has to qualify with a higher cut-off. This is nothing but ridiculous. If a student cannot grasp the concepts taught in class XII, how can you expect him to survive the educational atmosphere of IITs? On the other hand, a student from general caste who was so good in his studies and was a quick learner, he is not being granted the highest level of education in our country. What kind of justification is this if it does not involve political interest of drawing minority sentiments?

Similarly, on the professional forefront it has been witnessed that the probability of a general candidate qualifying for a government job has come below 40% on account of our reservation policy. In our country a candidate from minority is given more weightage than a general candidate regardless of how sound his professional knowledge is. Even cut-offs for minority classes has been kept less than those from general caste. This means, the minorities are enjoying more oppurtunities and at the same time suffering less competition. Such a reservation policy is only serving selfish political interest and on the other hand, producing a low grade of future entrepreneurs and professionals.

I do not want to say that minorities shouldnt be given the opportunities, but I would like to see them qualify through the same path as being followed by the General caste. If I

were the President, I would have strengthened the educational policy right at the grass root level, so that we do not have to follow such a selfish reservation policy in case of Higher education and professions. I would look into the matter to see if the minorities are getting their basic education right. In doing so, I would not compromise the gradation system in secondary and higher secondary level. This would ensure that if a student has an aim to go for higher education and become a successful professional, he/ she has to qualify stage wise proficiently. If that is sought, then they would not have to demand any kind of reservation and would qualify on their own merits.

Thirdly, another annoying issue today is that higher education has been transformed in to a business. Earlier, the critical professions like Engineering or Medical had a stricter level of qualifying examination. Only the cream layer of students, who had the calibre or merit, could only make it to such professional education, and hence we had quality engineers or doctors. But nowadays, every student appearing for a JEE can get a chance to study engineering. This has a two-fold effect. The major concern is that we are not getting quality professionals and the other concern is it is leading to higher level of unemployment. The quality factor is quite visible with massacres like bridges coming down, derailed trains, destruction of dams etc. in our country. The factor of unemployment comes in because the less-deserving and the non-deserving candidates are being drawn in to such courses even when they do not deserve to be and ultimately they develop a preconceived idea of securing a reputable job at the end of their course. Nowadays, engineering to be specific is more of a gateway for students to get a job in the IT industry, rather being a course where earlier genius used to get enrolled to get educated to create something. The business part is that numerous private engineering colleges are being opened up, granted AICTE or UGC status, and thus allowing a huge mass of students being enrolled. In the process, the competitive atmosphere in the qualifying exams for such professional courses is lost. To worsen the condition, the government of some states are allowing students to get enrolled even if they did not appear for the competitive exam, just to fill up seats in the newly formed private engineering colleges. If I were the President, I would like to bring back the earlier competitive atmosphere in such qualifying exams, would only allow colleges with quality infrastructure to impart courses, and discard licenses of the underrated colleges. CONCLUSION There are many other issues that involve many political corruptions, but being a student I have highlighted a few points regarding educational issues and flaws in our country and how I would like to bring about a change in those spheres. But to be very true, thinking about bringing a change is a hundred times easier than implementing them in reality. To successfully bring about a change, the strongest power is the citizens of a country, who should have an urge for a change, rather being reluctant and laid back to raise their voice against corruption.