13 September 2012

Pre-marital testing and HIV

In my humble opinion ( IMHO) , Premarital HIV Testing cannot bemandatory if it were, then it would be a form of coercion certainlynot 'voluntary'. It would definitely infringe the rights of anindividual. There are very serious issues around disclosure inan 'arranged marriage' situation that have to be addressed.
One may even argue that in north India, and perhaps also in otherparts marriage itself is really a 'non-voluntary' thing with 80percent of the brides and grooms pushed around the fire by theirfamilies.
Premarital HIV testing no doubt could be desirable if the coupleconcerned wish to do some concrete planning of their lives together.Premarital HIV testing in itself is no guarantee that in `arranged'and often forced marriage extramarital heterosexual and homosexualliaisons will not occur that risk behaviour will be kept away thatthe risk of infected blood transfusion will be any less
The argument that the testing is desirable because it willsomehow 'protect' the 'innocent' bride from HIV/AIDS is alsopreposterous I would say it's a typically myopic middle-classargument on the one hand there are a lot of women activists who arescreaming themselves hoarse that one in five girls in this country[more so in the villages] are victims of sexual abuse and on theother hand, there are ample independent surveys on sexuality andpsycho-sexual behaviours in rural India in recent times whichindicate that voluntary pre-marital sex is as much a part of theadolescent girls' life as it is a part of the boys'.
This talk of pre-marital HIV/AIDS testing sounds very much liketrying to re-introduce the chastity belt it's cumbersome, woman-unfriendly, and rusty.
IMHO, the argument for compulsory HIV/AIDS pre-marital testing is asasinine as the so-called 'ban' on foetal sex-determination it'sreally a self-defeating exercise.
What's needed is an upgrade on how the middle class in this countrylooks at issues around sex and sexuality, and reproduction andhealth. First accept that sexual behaviour exists. then accept thatit is by and large enjoyable.
Also accept the fact that all people - adolescents, young, and oldhave sexual rights irrespective of their 'marital' status, then workon how to make sexual behaviours as risk-free as possible. [and yes,one of the methods is definitely don't do it unless you're marriedor over 65!]
All that mandatory Pre-marital HIV/AIDS testing will achieve is morepaper work, more government control over private individuals andmore opportunities for corruption to spread.




Author: Frank Krishner

01 July 2012

Teachers don't Count Cattle no more


Ask a government teacher what hinders the delivery of quality education, and pat comes the answer, “Non-teaching assignments ordered by the local District magistrate”. Having interacted with scores, if not hundreds of government primary school teachers across Bihar over the years, this is their number one excuse for not getting their jobs done: how can we teach when we are ordered out of our classrooms to count animals?

The one fundamental excuse that a teacher in a state- run school has for not teaching is census and poll-related duties, and it has been around for over four decades. They say that instead of teaching kids in the classrooms, they are forced to traverse all over the countryside counting buffaloes, chickens, people below the poverty line... in fact anything that the state government wants counted is on the teachers' slates.
Frank Krishner at a 'Primary School' in Bodh Gaya 2010

The Bihar government has finally applied its mind to the problem and come up with the concept of a creating pool of ‘statistical volunteers’. These ‘volunteers’ will be unemployed educated youth having a ‘mathematics and commerce background’ according to the Bihar minister for planning and development Narendra Narayan Yadav.

One suspects that the person behind this idea is Principal Secretary of the department Vijay Prakash, who is well aware that having teachers go out and count animals, trees, and humans when they should be in school has always been a very stupid idea. Vijay Prakash has a communication style  that is simple and straightforward. This plan is in line with the Supreme Court’s directive that government school teachers should not be sent around on non-teaching assignments.
The teaching fraternity and educationists have pointed out that there was any number of educated and unemployed youth hanging about the place who could be drafted to do statistical work on a part-time basis.

These volunteers will be known as Accredited Statistical Volunteers (ASV), and a panel will be created for every block. Bihar has a total of 534 blocks, 8,071 Panchayats, and about 46,000 villages. This exercise would create about 80,000 part time jobs for educated and unemployed youth who have the requisite skills. Shortlisted and successful candidates are to be given a proper training in data collection and compilation, and receive an identity card. Their work will be remuneration based. In other words, they will be paid whenever there is census and statistical work .

This is a welcome move. The government teachers will have one less excuse for not doing the job of teaching. However, whether this will make a discernible impact on teaching quality is doubtful. Quality teaching needs dedication, intellect, compassion, and the ability to communicate well with kids. That can’t be addressed by statistical volunteers, accredited or otherwise. 




Author: Frank Krishner

29 March 2012

A hundred years, a hundred pledges


A hundred years, a hundred pledges

For three days, starting March 23rd, Bihar celebrated itself. The epicentre of the centenary celebrations, which transmitted the feel-good vibes to the public at large, was undoubtedly the historic Gandhi Maidan, the central park which is also known as the ‘lungs’ of the state capital.
For three consecutive days, hundreds of thousands visited the site of the Bihar Centenary Celebrations. It was here that the past glory, the present progress and the future goals were represented in the form of tableaus, exhibition stalls, activities and workshops, food stalls, competitions, and cultural displays. People from all walks of life dropped in at the Gandhi Maidan.
In the midst of all the excitement, visitors were attracted by a bold brass bell hanging outside a small pavilion painted in blue. A sign read: “100 years/100 pledges”. This space was for people to make a commitment to contribute to the ‘Beautiful Bihar’ dream.
“Everybody, especially the middle class, agrees that the image of Bihar has improved in the recent past. They say it’s because of the political vision of the Chief Minister and his government. But it’s also true that Bihar is still at the bottom of the development table. Just new tall buildings and shopping malls are no indicators of progress. It is the behaviour of the ordinary Bihari that’s a barometer for the state’s progress,” pointed out Shubraja Singh, the State Project Coordinator of Mahila Samakhya, Bihar. Singh, along with some 3,000 rural women from 17 districts held a convention in five pavilions, celebrating their own development story over the past two decades.

PARTICIPATION AND PROMISES
The blue pavilion, an initiative of the Education Department and supported by UNICEF aimed at ensuring the cooperation of the ordinary Bihari and her (his) participation in environment building for Brand Bihar. The stall “AAO Sapath Len” (Come let’s make a pledge) was for visitors to walk in to take oath for Bihari pride. A certificate photograph and pledge was issued to each individual. 
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister had said,” Citizenship consists in the service of the country.” It was Theodore Roosevelt, once President of America, who had said almost a centenary ago “The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight.”
The Bihar ‘100 Years/100 pledge pavilion put forward a simple proposition: Will you do your bit to make Bihar the best state in the country? If so, come and sign on the dotted line.
 A hundred pledges? “Well, let’s say they are a 100 suggestions, very simple and achievable things that a person can do. And you don’t have to do all of them. Just pick one thing to do or not to do and swear to abide by your promise,” a UNICEF facilitator at the stall.
Education is about human resource development. The quality of the human resources will impact programme delivery and effectiveness for any planned intervention.
Says Nalin Mishra, an officer with the Bihar Education Quality Mission, “It is necessary to nurture the resources. If people have a sense of pride and good behaviour, this will make a difference and increase the growth of the state. Bihar has glorious past. Youngsters should be aware of their past and contribute to the further growth of Bihar. Bihar Divas is to instil a sense of pride in belonging to Bihar.”
The eight millennium goals of which education, gender equity, health and sanitation are prominent have been simplified into very common behaviours that can be easily done by the ordinary citizen. By linking each of these behaviours directly with a promise for the betterment of the state, a sense of pride and kinship is evoked.

THE PROCESS
The process began with a pre-event brainstorming session, which led to the selection of the hundred pledges. These pledges were development indicators in fairly simple and easily understood words. A few examples: To encourage out of school kids to go to school; not to spit indiscriminately, to treat visitors to Bihar with respect, to conserve energy, to pay special attention to girls’ education, not to waste food and so on.
A visitor would fill out her (his) name on a ticket, choose an oath, and then go inside the tent. S(he) would then sit in front of a computer fitted with a camera. The operator would immediately affix her(his) photograph on a soft copy of the oath and after a minute, the visitor would receive a beautifully printed and certified copy of the oath.
Having made the pledge, the visitor would ring the brass bell outside the stall: a symbolic announcement of the commitment to God and State.
Anjani Kumar
Space for expression was provided outside the stall, and children were encouraged to write or draw their dreams and hopes for Bihar. People of all ages took part in this creative exercise. They wrote slogans, penned best wishes to Bihar, and expressed their hopes for a future filled with hope for children.

RESPONSE
In all 10,094 people took a pledge. 3,293 of these were women and girls.
Among those who took the pledge were the Bihar Education Minister Hon’ble P K Sahi, who selected pledge number 34- ‘I will never behave in a manner that will bring down the prestige of Bihar.’ Mr Anjani Kumar, the Principal Secretary (Education) signed his name to pledge number 100: ‘I will encourage girls to achieve higher education.’ Dr. Rajesh Bhushan, the State Project Director of the Bihar Education Project Council pledged to make others aware of the glorious history of Bihar. Unicef Chief Dr Yameen Mazumdar took an oath to protect the rights of children.
The most taken pledge was the first on the list, “Encourage out of school children to enrol in school”. 831 men (12 percent) and 672 (22 percent) women took this pledge. The next important issue for women, was girls’ education. 146 women pledged to give special attention to the education of girls. The males’ second focus was the planting of tress ( 248 men, 93 women), followed by giving respect to teachers (226 males, 122 females). Conservation of water was the third most important issue for females, but it ranked 6th for males. The fourth most important pledge for males was number 82: ‘Completing my work with honesty and sincerity’. Higher education of girls ranked 5th on the men’s priorities, but 9th on the women’s after giving aid to orphans, helping the hungry, protecting trees, and standing up against domestic violence. Domestic violence ranked 25th  on the male priority list.
Each visitor could take only one pledge, thus one had to select the most important issue. The exercise was significant because the data collected can be an indicator of the status of advocacy on various issues.
The exercise had a lasting impression away from the Gandhi Maidan as well.
The mother of a college going student looked at her pledge card and remarked, “So you pledge not to discriminate on the basis of gender, you should have taken a pledge number 66- I promise to use my mobile phone sparingly!” Her daughter replied, “Ma, this isn’t a new year’s resolution. It’s a pledge. It has my photograph and signature on it. I’m not going to make a pledge I can’t keep!”


Author: Frank Krishner