Free and Effective Education for All

The net has been used for a lot of stuff. Mainly e-mail, social media - facebook & twitter, find data for assignments, find facts, watch movies and so on. It has also been used on and off to find some useful educational material. The issue has always been with, "So much stuff, so little time."

I've always felt that 1 of the most lethal uses of the internet technology and media would be education. And a couple of years ago, when I tried to find a 1 stop place for educational material, I came across khanacademy.org. It had relatively little content, but that content was really good, and I was a fan. In the last couple of months on several occasions, when the topic came around to education, the main crib was no good content and youtube by itself was too unstructured and it took a while to find what you wanted. I was surprised that no one had come across my favourite website and so checked it out.

And surprise of surprises, it was much larger, better and covered a whole lot more than earlier. In fact, there seems to be stiff even for the older people who are not looking at education and learning from an examination perspective but from a learning perspective.

And like most of the things they do, they explain what they are about, better than I ever could. So let me just quote from their website.

"Watch. Practice. Learn almost anything for free.
With a library of over 2,600 videos covering everything from arithmetic to physics, finance, and history and 215 practice exercises, we're on a mission to help you learn what you want, when you want, at your own pace."

These few lines that appear on the website say it all. And then another few lines again that appear on the website say the rest.

"A free world-class education for anyone anywhere.
The Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. We're a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere.

All of the site's resources are available to anyone. It doesn't matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. The Khan Academy's materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge."

A big "Thank You" to Sal and his team for making meaningful education available and affordable, not only for those who lack resources, but even for those who may have resources but did not have viable options.

Anna Hazare – Victory or Failure

Anna Hazare ends fast, India celebrates victory against corruption, was a popular headline. Looking as fresh and young as a 30 year old, even though he had not eaten in over 12 days, Anna Hazare broke his fast around 10 a.m. at the Ramlila Maidan where he has been camped with followers for the last 9 days.

Symbolically two little girls, Ikra and Simran, wearing Anna caps, offered him coconut water and honey. He has lost 7+ kgs, but looks as fit and enthusiastic as Day 1 when he started his fast at Tihar jail.

The end to the impasse came when Parliament that had a debate on a Saturday, an unusual event in itself passed a resolution that was largely meaningless, which said a lot, but very little in terms of hard commitments or resolutions, including whether the bill will be tabled let alone passed within a given time period. The resolution was on the lines of :
"This House agrees in principle on the following issues for a strong and effective Lok Pal
A) citizen charter
B) lower bureaucracy to be under Lok Pal through an appropriate mechanism
C) establishment of Lok Ayukts in the states
And further resolves to forward the proceedings of the house to the related Standing Committee for its perusal while finalizing its report."

 

Nevertheless considering the fact that Anna almost got nothing it all, these major concessions by the ruling UPA and by parliament was a victory of sorts. The final agreement to end the fast came when Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh, handed over a letter from the PM to Anna last night.

Letter from Mr. Manmohan Singh to Anna Hazare

The media by and large behaved in a mature manner and did not run amok claiming a victory or defeat for either side. It projected a gain for all. The movement was supported by many across the Board and from various industries. Bollywood had its fair share of participants from Om Puri, to Anupam Kher. The star was Aamir Khan. While asking Anna to end his fast and songs from his hit movie, Lagaan were played. "We have to thank Anna for putting this bill and the issue of corruption in the spotlight. "We need to decide as to how we are going to live our lives... will we give or accept bribes? Will we say no to corruption in our lives?"
A good movement, but the 2 questions that we began with still remain.

When will Parliament pass a strong and effective Lokpal Bill ?

and more importantly

When will we say "No", to corruption. Anna has started a movement. But he needs each of us to join in and say "No" for the movement to have any chance of success. Our elders gave us freedom from he British. Can we give our kids freedom from corruption ?

Aarakshan – QED or QOD ?

The last 2 weeks, the film Aarkshan which means “Reservation” has been in the news. Various state governments have held private screenings and 3 states have even banned the film. Interestingly the Government officials who went to watch the film, went with their families, some of them with an entourage of extended family. Ironic that the people reviewing the film to decide whether we could see it or not, did not have any reservations about their families seeing the film.

The subject of reservations has always been controversial ever since Independence and in the 64 years since, just become more murky and even more controversial. Most people have extreme views and a majority of them are against it.

The issue of reservations in India has grown to mammoth proportions. The concept when it started was noble. People who were disadvantaged due to the lower caste and upper caste divide should now be given an advantage to help make up for the injustice of 1000’s of years. And so reservations were made for the disadvantaged in educational institutions, governmental jobs, and so on. The issue became increasingly severe when more and more groups of people wanted to join the disadvantaged bandwagon. So much so, that today in most places, whether educational or jobs, reservations are at a minimum of 25% and in many cases higher than 51%. The problem is that amongst people competing for these places, the majority is left with less than half the available seats. Debates have been going on for the last 64 years, but so far the politicians have been taking the politically correct soft stand of “Reservations is good”, since that’s where their votes are coming from.

The film released Friday with heavy security deployed in the theaters fearing protests, which typically tend to get violent. My daughter’s Prof had suggested they see the film as reservations was an important discussion point in Eco. And so, she requested me (or is ordered a more appropriate word) to go see the film with her. And so earlier today, we went to a mall to see the film. The theatre had several cops who I assume were there to prevent violence, but with an empty theatre that didn’t seem likely.

The film, unlike most films actually has a story. And it was good. Unfortunately the editing was poor and what should have been under 2 hours dragged on for over 3 hours. Interestingly the film which mirrors society, mirrored the politicians and took no stand or offered no opinion on the issue it was supposed to address. Instead, it revolved around a villain and a hero. And several sub heroes and sub villains. And finally the heroes win and all is well. The film definitely merits a viewing once.

The film uses the mathematical QED repetitively and the Big B calls it “Quite Easily Done” I think the film can be summarized as a variation of that. QOD or Quite Over Done.

In concluding, let me take a stance on the subject of reservations. My short answer, “Reservations are bad and should be scrapped”. The longer version is as follows. Firstly, the injustice of the past is a fact. Some of it continues and should be addressed. However injustice can never be solved or addressed by yet another injustice. And that is exactly what the reservations do. Secondly, the primary users of the reservation system is not the needy, but the greedy. It’s being used and misused by the wealthy from the so called reserved category. It defies logic as these people have got all the advantages and much, much, more than the normal person. And finally advantages should be given to the economically needy. Provide free  and or subsidized education and training and whatever else is needed to enable them to compete. Reservations cripple society. For the unreserved and for the reserved. Let’s enable the disadvantaged by giving them an opportunity to compete as equals.

The Leela - Namaste

On Friday night I traveled to Delhi for a meeting. I had to stay over and a quick search showed me that The Leela Gurgaon was offering a great deal for hotels of that standard. And interstingly of all the websites offering deals, the Leela’s own website offered the best and most transparent deal. Under Rs. 8,000 for a standard room, with breakfast.

Landing in Delhi, I took a prepaid cab to the hotel. Surprisingly it was just a short drive and I arrived in 20 minutes. The VIP treatment started at the gate. The doorman and the security were friendly and cordial and all of them had a traditional Namaste. What differentiate the Namaste was the smile on their faces. That was a new one. And very welcoming.

The reception staff were very efficient. I asked for a change in the assigned room. They checked availability, confirmed and within seconds had the key ready. An executive (Deepshika) was assigned to take me to my room. On the way, she enquired about trivia. I, in turn tried to find out as much as I could about the hotel. She was informative and open. The statistics she offered about the hotel, which I assume to be correct were very impressive. Normal occupancy of 80%+ was one of the interesting data I gathered.

In the room, she quickly started the check-in formalities. Another first. And showed me around. Great start. As she was leaving, she mentioned that the minibar was free. I almost had a stroke. Free minibar in a hotel. Never happened before in any part of the world. I checked again. And her response was cool. “Sir, It’s free. if it appears on your bill, call me and I’ll clear it”.

It was late. And I didn’t feel too hungry. But the fruits and cookies temptingly left on the table were irrestible. Switched on the TV. Good selection of channels and movies. A big working table and a comfortable chair was where I finished some work, whilst watching TV.

The bath was pretty cool. It had a glass partitions and remote controlled shutters. It made the room seem especially large. And the rain shower was another first. I know that these are trivial things, but each one was interesting enough to make it note worthy. After a nice warm shower, I hit the bar, rather mini bar. And surprisingly although it was Free, it was decently stocked. Beer, Soft drinks, Diet drinks, Juices, Snacks. And I had a couple of soft drinks and a couple of snack packets.

And then hit the cool, comfortable, snuggy bed. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep. The next thing I knew was my Alarm going off at 6.30. Made myself a cuppa from a selection of teas and coffees. Checked e-mail, et al, had a shower, repacked in 30 secs and was all set to checkout. But not before breakfast. So headed down with my only bad, my large laptop bag. On the way to the restaurant, I stopped by the reception and requested that my bill be kept ready.

The restaurant was like most of the Leela’s restaurants. Huge and Beautiful. And the service, Awesome. I asked for a cup of Tea, and this was one of the few times that I actually got a Hot cup in a 5 star. The breakfast spread was overwhelming. 100’s of varieties. From fruits, to Continental to Indian.  Cold Buffets and Hot Buffets. I forgot my diet for the day, since I did not want to do injustice to the sumptuous offerings. A couple of more cups of hot tea nicely completed the meal.

Walked to the reception and got my bill. Paid and was headed out. An hostess makes sure you have all your bags, et al, and then the final Namaste. The experience would rate amongst the top 3, I’ve had across hotels around the world. For the sake of being critical, I would evaluate just 2 points. The Namaste, especially the physical part might be more meaningful if toned down. A Namste would suffice, without the crisply folded hands. The second is the price of the hotel transfers. At Rs. 2000, not too many are likely to use it. And when you’ve made everything else so cool, making this available at reasonable prices would be awesome.

The Leela serves as an example of smart service. As an example, the MRP of what I consumed in the minibar was Rs. 50. Yet it inspired this blog. Don’t know of any more cost effective advertising.

Thank you Leela. Namaste.

Happy Birthday Dad

Today is my Dad’s 76th birthday. After last years grand birthday celebrations, this year was a low key event. The big question facing us was his birthday present. What do you get someone who already has all that life has to offer?

The answer - Convenience. Although computers arrived long after his time, Dad has managed to catch up pretty quickly. He has a laptop and a desktop. And uses e-mail and messengers very effectively. Recently he’s been having some difficulty with them. The desktop had outlived its life after 4+ years. And the laptop with its small size did not make Dad comfortable. And so we concluded that getting him a nice desktop with a large screen would be a good idea.

In our family if any technology is involved, then there’s only 1 person whose views prevail. And that’s my cousin, Claudian. As is usual, Clauds was asked for his recommendation. And getting a recommendation out of Claudian is similar to pulling teeth out from a child. He requires to start with a 100 options and then start eliminating them on various parameters, such as performance, value-for-money, style, support, features, … It doesn’t end there. Once he has his short list, he then needs to check out all the various options. And like all good consultants needs to be pampered.

On the Friday preceding the birthday, My sister, Mabel and I drove Clauds to Phoenix Mills. The search started at McDonald’s. as Clauds puts it, “You can’t take decisions on an empty stomach”. After fuelling up, we started the search at Staples. Saw several computers, but Clauds was not impressed. We moved on to Croma. A HP All-in-One caught our eye. Yes, good option, opined Clauds. But we need to do more research. The 1 touch button did not work well. The Croma staff and specialists were questioned and cross questioned. At the end of it what emerged was that they had no idea. The next stop was the Tardeo e-Zone. Once again poor choice of PC’s and laptops. We were in and out in under 3 minutes. That’s how sad their collection was. Next stop Vijay Sales. Good collection of PC’s and desktops. Poor customer service. Poorer knowledge of products. And we have to leave before they lock us in.

At the end of this hectic recce trip, Claudian promises to research based on the new information now available. He writes and talks to Dell and several other PC / laptop manufacturers. And finally a winner emerges. The HP All-in-One. Hey, it  wasn’t that the first one we saw. It was, but then without the journey, the fruits of labor would not be as tasty.

Finally, yesterday, we went to the Juhu Croma and purchased the All-in-One. It came with a free printer. And we purchased an additional 2 year warranty at Rs. 2900. Making the purchase a great deal, guaranteed to work for 3 years.

Dad loves his new toy. He can now add Skype to his e-skills. Dad does not leave his Colaba house very often. Unless its to visit his favorite child, Mabel. The new computer allows him to interact, see and talk to all his other grandkids, who live in far away places like San Francisco and Powai. And maybe even chat with his prodigal children.

Happy Birthday Dad. You may or may not know it, but we all love you. In 1992 a postcard said it. In 2011, a blog says it. Have a great year ahead.

Ta Ta AIG – With you always. Until you need us.

A colleague of mine recently made a trip to the US and as usual we took his Travel Insurance form our no. 1 choice TataAIG. So far we’ve never had reason to actually call back after having paid the initial premium and so assumed that they offered good service.

This time around, my colleagues trip was extended by 3 months. And so we wanted to extend the insurance. And that’s when the nightmare began. I would never have believed that a company of the stature of the TATA’s would ever come across so poorly. But let the facts speak for themselves.

My colleagues initial trip dates were between 29th April and 27th July. Around the beginning of June, the client requested that the trip be extended by a couple of months. Hence we wanted to extend the travel insurance by 3 months. We called TataAIG in the first or second week of June on 3 or 4 occasions. Each time they said a representative would call back and let us know the formalities. These calls never happened. Finally on the 5th try around the 25th of June, TataAIG informed that we needed to fill an extension form. The same was e-mailed to us on the 28th of June. 3 weeks after we started the interaction.

This form was completed and faxed to TataAIG around the 29th of June. We were told that they would process the same and let us know in 48 hrs. We checked with them every alternate day in the 1st week of July. Every time the response was that the same is being processed. And that someone would call us in 24 hrs. That call never happened.

Around the 7th of July, I called and was now told the fax was never received. I asked to be put on to the supervisor. I was kept on hold for 15 odd minutes and then miraculously the fax was found. I was then told that they would process the same and someone would call back in 24 hours. The one positive about TataAIG was their consistency. Once again, nobody called.

On 11th July, I once again called to find out the status. This time there was an arrogant person called Pooja who came online. She tried telling me how this was a complex process that takes time and we should be patient. When I enquired how long, she after great deliberation came up with the magic number of 48 hours. I explained that in my limited knowledge more than 1 month was definitely more than 48 hours. I asked for the supervisor. Once again a Wall. But no supervisor. Finally Ms. Pooja agreed to walk across to the department where the processing was happening and find out the status. She reappeared with the now standard information that someone would call in 1 hour. When I reconfirmed, it became maximum 2 hours. Once again TataAIG was consistent. Nobody called.

On 12th July, I once again called. This time I was told, that it would take them 2 hours to find out why Pooja had not called in 1 hour. And the once again standard line, “Someone will definitely call in 1 hour’. 2 hours later, no call. Call once again. This time a new line. My system says, the extension is being turned down because it has an existing claim. Surprise, Surprise. There was no claim. The line then changed to “We’re surprised our supervisor hasn’t yet called. She’ll call within an hour”. And finally a formal e-mail, the very first communication from TataAIG declining the extension. 40 days after our first interaction. And more than 2 dozen calls, e-mails, et al.

We wrote back to find out the reason. An automated mail promising a response in 2 days. No response. Yet another mail. Yet again no response. When the Government ignores a citizen and refuses to respond we have the RTI. When a private company, one as renowned as the TATA’s displays this behavior, what does one do? I guess, find another provider.

Mr. Tata, I now subscribe to TataAIG, Tata Power and Tata Sky. All because I believed that the Tata's were and will continue to be a responsible and customer sensitive group. My latest experience seems to indicate otherwise. I do hope that somebody, somewhere looks into the callous attitude and behavior and stops it before it becomes systemic within the group.

Link to e-mail exchange with TataAIG

Police Verification for Passport

As part of the passport application and granting process, a police verification happens. The passport office sends your form to the local police station for verification. And that’s the beginning of yet another opportunity for corruption.

My understanding is that the police is supposed to verify the facts. And see if there are any reasons such as pending criminal cases why the person should not be issued a passport. That’s not what happens. The police visit the applicant’s house and gives a long list of documents with which the applicant is instructed to visit the police station. This list is much longer than the 1 asked for by the passport office. And hence makes no sense. But ours not to question why. Ours is but to do and cry.

A colleague recently had this experience. Once you visit the police station, comes the twist in the tale. The police goes through the originals and photocopies and then asks you to get all the certificates attested by a Gazetted Offficer. The police know fully well that very few people know or have access to a Gazetted Officer. A  Gazette Officer is a Senior Officer in the Government Service like a Commissioner of Police or a Secretary in the Government or a District Magistrate.

If you knew a Gazetted Officer, then you can get your passport even before the police verification in a system called “Tatkal”. Since you are here, the police knows very well that you do not have access to such a person. And in any case you are providing the originals, so he can verify. But then the opportunity would not exist. So here’s how it plays out. Most people say, “Sir, I don’t know anybody, can you help me ?” And on payment of Rs. 500, miraculously no documents are needed.

There was yet another colleague, an upright no nonsense army officer, Col. Pandey. His daughter required the police verification and the same story unfolded. Fortunately for all of us, there are some people who do not only practice honesty and integrity but have ensured that their families also believe and practice the same. She tried to find out why this was required, without any luck. Fortunately her brother like her father is in the Army and a Gazetted Officer and was in town. She got all the certificates attested and submitted them. The policeman was not happy. He had failed to extract his pound of flesh. And so coincidentally, the verification stated, “Permanent address not known” or some such.

She was summoned by the Passport Office, which wanted proof of a permanent address. Her pleas that because her father was in the Army, and had been transferred a dozen times, she has lived all over the country. He has a house in Delhi, and now lives in Mumbai. So what exactly do they need ? And what more proof do they want ? No luck. Get a permanent address or you cannot get a passport.

Finally my colleague helped draft a letter that stated all of the above facts, and also highlighted the fact that it seems to be a crime in this country to dedicate your life to the service of your nation, since you will not have permanency and cannot get a passport. This time around the Passport Office reluctantly accepted the letter and have said they will process it. What happens, time will tell.

Not enough of us are standing up and willing to go through the harassment if we do not bribe the authorities. But until such time as enough Col. Pandeys don’t stand up and take a stand we shall continue to attract our place of (dis)honour amongst the “Most Corrupt Nations”.

p.s.: Interestingly Col. Pandey has batch mates and friends who are very senior officials in the External Affairs Ministry and could have got his daughters work done with 1 call. But then, he believes in not only preaching about Doing the right thing, but practicing Doing the right thing. Can you also practice what you preach ?