Eating is an agricultural act - Wendell Berry

Monday, May 07, 2007

central vs state

someone i know wanted to change schools. from a bombay municipal school to a kendriya vidyalaya. from maharashtra state board to cbse. from bad school to good school.

fairly a no-brainer for any parent who has the economic capability.

school change involves documentation. there is the school leaving certificate (aka transfer certificate) which is issued by the 'leaving' school and is to be submitted to the 'joining' school.
there are some intricate and befuddling rules governing this as i find out.

the cbse dude wants the LC/TC to be countersigned by the education board (over and above the school principal). the education board guy says that he will only sign for transfers outside the state and intrastate transfers (even though across boards) do not need a counter sign.

well well. 2 rules books to contend with and both dudes are top contenders for Indian Idle.

so attempts to try to lay hands on the rule books with no success.
had a telecon with the ed board dude.
more than incompetence, he was plain rude.

rd (rude dude) - why do you want to change schools?
csm - parents want him to go to a better school.
rd - this is not a rat race competition between schools. one school will lose and other will gain. (don't ask me to explain...)
csm - parents have a right in a democracy to choose the best option for their children.
rd - if you were here i could tell you what democracy is and what it entails.

no appetite for a civics lesson, i close down the conversation fast.

rd was simply
1. waiting for some under the table.
2. worried that municipal schools enrollment numbers are falling rapidly.

hoping for a chance to meet him and stuff his backside.

2 comments:

Preeti Aghalayam aka kbpm said...

meanwhile i was in a bank. trying to wire transfer. per rules you cant wire transfer without having an account in a bank. the bank i have an account with, meanwhile, refuses to indulge in wire transfers. after feeling a little like a human ping pong ball, i managed to get in front of clerk. surly clerk. me, sweaty and ready for battle. suddenly, brain flash. counter attacked surly with wide grin and warm smile. 'how are you today madam?' -ed and so on. worked great. she smiled back, did not complain about making change, was almost a human being.
how this a relevant comment? hmm....

csm said...

smiles making a mark is always relevant whatever be the post :-)