Mix of shiksha & vidya

The approval of the National Education Policy (NEP) is a radical step. It will go a long way to make our education relevant to the needs of the times. Laying stress on scientific temper and mathematical abilities will help develop objective and analytical faculties. Taking three-year-old children under Early Childhood Care and Education scheme is one of the laudable aspects of the NEP. The other is the seeds of liberal and flexible education. Kudos to the government for making the system a blend of shiksha and vidya — the ideal of our ancient system of education.

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DV Sharma, Mukerian

Governor’s responsibility

Apropos of ‘Towards a floor test’ (July 30), the Governor functions as per the advice of the Council of Ministers. In the Nabam Rebia case (2016), the SC, after referring to the debate on draft Article 153 (subsequently renumbered Article 174) in the Constituent Assembly, held that omission of sub-article (3) in draft Article 153 confirmed the intent, and the rightful inference was that the framers of the Constitution altered the original contemplation, and decided not to vest discretion with the Governor in matters of summoning the House. However, in the recommendation of the Rules Committee of the Lok Sabha in 1967, the period of notice for starred questions was fixed at 21 days (later changed to 15). The 15-day period for summoning the session, when the agenda did not include the vote of confidence, is a matter of expediency. The Gehlot government not specifying the agenda and wanting the session sooner was rightly asked to reconsider. It has been finally acceded to by the Council of Ministers, ending the impasse.

PIYUSH KANT JAIN, by mail

Don’t be a BJP tool

On the Rajasthan Cabinet’s demand for convening an Assembly session urgently, the Constitution and the SC have already settled that the Governor has no discretionary powers in summoning a session of the Assembly and he or she is bound to act in accordance with the aid and advice of the CM and the Council of Ministers. The Governor cannot escape constitutional responsibility and must convene the Assembly as demanded by the Cabinet. Raj Bhavan should not be a tool of the BJP to dislodge and install governments as and when it wants.

SK Khosla, Chandigarh

Pay for lectures

Refer to ‘Education dept tells private schools to pay for lectures on DD’ (July 30); this is a ridiculous decision and will put a financial burden on the schools to pay the annual charges for DTH services. This is no way of tiding over the economic crisis owing to Covid-19. It discriminates against private schools. There are 8,623 private recognised schools affiliated to the PSEB. The department has started the telecast of lectures on DD Punjabi (DTH) for all classes to help students who do not have access to smartphones. This is a futile exercise, as this programme is not going to benefit the students much.

Raj Kumar Kapoor, Ropar

Follow Karnataka lead

It is appreciable that the Karnataka Government took a bold decision to go ahead with the KCET exam on July 30 and 31 for admission to various engineering colleges in the state, even though a PIL was filed by the NSUI regarding its cancellation or postponement due to Covid. But the government assured the court to hold the exam by taking all safety measures. The NTA should also not budge under pressure and must go ahead with NEET and JEE, as scheduled in September.

Amit Singla, Sangrur

Not without art

Art has always been an abstract concept that is a bridge between imagination and the real world (What would life be without art?). Art is when perpetual emotions are portrayed or morphed into mortal life. It is fascinating as it allows ideas and emotions to be tangible. Frederic Sorrieu painted the German flag much before it was a nation. Every practical thing was once an act of imagination, an art.

SAMANTHA GARG, by mail

Justice for NRI brides

In 2019, the then Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi had made a statement that the government had cancelled passports of 45 NRIs for abandoning their wives. The government had introduced a Bill in the Rajya Sabha to give justice to such women. She had expressed dismay that the Bill had got stalled in the Upper House. It is now over a year, but there has been no further development in this regard. There may be hundreds of similar cases in which women have been abandoned by their NRI husbands across the country. They are seeking speedy justice and suitable legal action. Passports of NRIs should be cancelled immediately after the registration of an FIR against them. This will be the first step towards justice. There is a perception among the accused NRIs that they are beyond the reach of law.

Garima Dhiman, Ludhiana

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