Not China's fault

The editorial ‘Coronavirus origin’ is misleading. China sticks to the fact that origins-tracing is a matter of science, and opposes politicisation of this matter by slandering other countries. China has always been participating in the international origins-tracing with an open attitude, and has never evaded such scientific and investigative cooperation. Twice we have invited WHO experts from different countries, including Australia, Denmark, Japan, Kenya, Russia, the Netherlands and the US for origins-tracing joint studies. The experts went to all places they wanted to go, met all the people they wanted to meet. The WHO-China joint study report made a scientific conclusion that ‘a laboratory leak is extremely unlikely’. More and more reports have pointed to separate outbreaks in multiple places in the world in the latter half of 2019. At least five states in the US alone had Covid-19 infections before the first officially reported confirmed case, and these cases show that Covid-19 seems to have multiple origins and emerged in different localities. Unity and cooperation are the international community’s most potent weapon to overcome the pandemic. Covid-19 will not be the last global pandemic. As we respond to health crisis, we need to prepare for the next one. All countries need to join hands to shoulder the responsibility to protect lives of people.

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Wang Xiaojian, Press Counsellor, Chinese embassy in India

Without jobs

‘Unemployment crisis’ unfolds some startling facts about unemployment across the country. This escalating incidence of unemployment cannot be ascribed to the damaging impact of Covid-19 on the economy alone, since even before the eruption of the pandemic, the job market was shrinking, touching an unemployment rate of 6.1%, the highest since 1972-1973. Simmering unrest among the unemployed youths can erupt into a social commotion if the issue is not addressed. No spurious arguments will work in arresting the growing disenchantment of the unemployed youths with the current ruling dispensation.

Roshan Lal Goel, Ladwa

Facilitate employment

It won’t be possible to provide employment to all job-seekers in the country, in both the government and private sectors (‘Unemployment crisis’). One of the reasons is that educated children from families involved in agriculture, or tailoring, painting, carpentry and petty business are seeking employment elsewhere. Such youth must be motivated to pursue their family profession and business by offering them skill development programmes, financial incentives etc. to reduce the unemployment rate. Other steps can be imparting job-oriented education and facilitating educated youth to become entrepreneurs instead of job-seekers, so that they are self-employed as well as providers of employment to others.

O PRASADA RAO, by mail

Slow to act

It is surprising how a powerful nation like India could not read the writing on the wall well before time. The most appropriate and opportune time to bring back all our students was when countries like the US and UK issued advisory for its citizens to leave Ukraine immediately. Why did India not issue a similar advisory and bring back our people well before the eruption of war? Rather, the airlines increased their fare manifold, which most students could not afford.

RAMESH GUPTA, NARWANA

Mandir or medical college?

We would like to know from our short-sighted politicians if — now that they are free from electioneering — more mandirs will be constructed all over India to please a particular votebank, or will more medical colleges come up, following the Ukraine crisis? India needs visionaries who can bring our country to a new era. People are fed up with the present vote-garnering policies of the present regime. Changing names of cities and railway stations will not solve any purpose. Costly medical education and reservation policy based on caste will further push our country backward. Had those students got admission to Indian medical colleges with low fee, they would not have faced such hardships.

Bhupinder Singh Parmar, Jalandhar

Issues facing schools

Refer to ‘School bullies’; schools today are facing untold problems due to factors like expansion of education, nuclear families, lack of leadership in schools, inhuman administration, lackadaisical attitude among teachers and lack of proper infrastructure. NEP-2020 has laid stress on leadership and delegation of powers in administration. These issues cannot be addressed unless there is a paradigm shift in administration and raising the financial input by at least 6% of GDP, as also suggested by NEP and other commissions. The government must resolve the unsavoury problems in administration and class management, which will be difficult unless an ‘Indian Education Service’ is created in teaching and administration.

S KUMAR, PANCHKULA

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