The Education EQUATION

Shweta, a working mother is always running against the clock to do her bit so that her son gets all he wants to excel in what he chooses to. Talking to her, some parts of our conversation kept echoing in my head.

"I never feel stretched with my work, because at the end i know i'm doing it for the betterment of my family."

"The last time i felt sad was when i could not afford to send my son for an international school league camp on animation. It was expensive and we could not afford it."

"Neither me nor my husband hold our hands back when it comes to developmental needs and resources for our son. But then, everything is getting so expensive, i wonder, how would things be by the time our son reaches college. Will we be able to afford a good standard of living & a good college for him. That is why, we decided to have no more children, we want to give our best to him."

It's not for any other reason but the very helplessness of Shweta as a parent that makes me think, is it fair! May be her expectations are nothing less than the best for her child, may be she doesn't want to compromise on anything to do with her child's development, may be she wants to do what is right for her child. Since when have these become unreasonable expectations….Guess the time has come to look around us and evaluate whether parents really have the right to do what is right for their child.

One of my academic teacher friends mentioned this recently, "I wish for a day when good education will have least to do with the money paid." It's ironic but true that the education cess you pay in every bill for is not enough to ensure a good standard of education in our country at a reasonable price. I feel it is right of a parent to know the return in quality for his hard earned money when he pays for her child's education.