2012 January

Cricket is not the only domainwhere India is being hit badly.Last issue we talked about theeducational standards and at thetime of editing this edition, wecome across another dishearteningreport on the environmental front.India ranks lowly at 125 on theenvironment index.Year after year why do we acceptourselves to be a nation oflaggards? Why is mediocrity deeplyingrained in our cultural milieu?What are we doing about it?Raising questions is surely easy.Working together to find solutionsand act on them is not easier. ‘NaySayers’ abound in our nation ofplentiful divergence.

We have a major wakeup call as perthe newspapers:India ranked second last among the73 countries that participated in theProgramme for InternationalStudent Assessment (PISA),conducted annually to evaluateeducation systems worldwide by theOECD (Organisation for EconomicCo-operation and Development)Secretariat. The survey is based ontwo-hour tests that half a millionstudents are put through.We are 200 points behind globaltopper.The pride of India, the passionatelyrics “Saare Jahan Se Achhaa,Hindustan Hamara…”, countingDoctors, Software professionals etc.given to the western world, does takea serious jolt, if people who matter arelistening.