Education Abroad

This is an Article that has come from the Editor's Choice in You The Journalist.
The article was written by Mr. Sriram Rao. A few of the paras were given comments by me which I want you readers to justify.

Many people are obsessed with studying abroad even today. This was perhaps a meaningful objective about 20 years ago, but today it is foolish!

............ Agreed in today's world people do a lot of foolish things. Your statement can be forwarded to most of the Industrialists in India today, who are crazy about sending their children soon after the 10th standard. I have found that these very same people make headline statements in the leading newspapers saying that the common man of India has no sense of Patriotism for their country. They preach that they are against any children going abroad for higher studies when "there are so many good schools in India. Our teaching system is excellent compared to those abroad". That is how they make frontline statements. Now I would like to know why are their children going in for higher studies abroad? Is it for prestige value that their children are "Foreign returned" or is it because it fetches a higher value in the matrimonial market or is it just sheer aristocracy?
Take the case recently when a few Politicians from the Karnataka State have gone on a tour to china. Why because they wanted to learn the system in places like China, Singapore etc etc. Have they learnt anything good? Believe me when I say, to them it was nothing but a picnic! At whose cost? Was it necessary to send the entire battalion for the trip? Who is going to answer this to the common man? We pay income taxes through our nose. One day's delay in paying the income tax, and we have someone knocking on our doors with a fine slapped on our faces.

My son applied for a master's course in the UK. He got a joining letter from five universities. But I persuaded him not to join. He has now finished the course in India at one tenth the cost and has been offered a good job.
........................ Good! I am glad for your son. But don't you think he should have verified the total cost in the first place before rejecting the same? Yes, I do agree that the cost of education is very high. They go by their International standards and the cost and standard of living as per their country. Once again, congratulations to your son!

Some of his friends however went to the UK. They spent something like Rs. 25 lakhs with parents selling plots of land, borrowing from relatives abroad and so on in addition to the bank loan of about Rs.15 lakhs.
...................I am sorry I am not aware IF any financial aid is being given to students studying in U.K. Most educational Institutions abroad do offer financial aid (Tuition Grants or Bursaries)on condition that they return the loan soon after they graduate and start working and within the time period that they are given.

The students expected to get jobs in the UK immediately after the course but did not get any. They had the bank loan repayments hanging on their heads and did not know what to do. Some of them came back but
could not land any job in India. Some of them have taken up BPO jobs and are working late nights. Others are still without jobs. A few are still hanging around in UK living with relatives and trying for a job.
........................The reason here I feel about those trying for jobs in U.K. is mainly because of the good salary that is offered there in pounds. So, at any cost they do not mind waiting for a good job. Sir, without any mis-understanding, I would like to ask," will our country pay the same salary that is offered abroad?" I remember how much our parents struggled to make two ends meet to give us good education, even, one meal a day. Does our government think of all this? You ask the common man walking on the street and he will say, "Here only the rich are getting richer, while the poor are getting poorer. What about the middle-class category? They are left high and dry. Why? Who is going to stop the corruption that is spreading like plague? Don't you agree that everyone wants a good life? The question is when? We have only one life to live. In the next birth I am not sure if we will be given another chance to be born as humans.

Readers, in my opinion, please do not get me wrong. India is a country where every common man can prosper. This is possible only if there is no interference from the corrupt class of people, including the politicians.

Yes, in my view there is a widespread belief that the quality of education abroad is most certainly high in specialized fields, and I mean specialized subjects which a country like India is not having the faculty that is really trained and specialized. It will take a long time for a country like India to improve in every field. This point is mis-understood by many and I am really sorry to say that. Truth is always bitter and it is more bitter to swallow that pill.
If the common man wants to study a specialized subject he has to bear the sufferings as well. He is been given the answer (after paying- a- heavy- one time full fees) that the required faculty is not available for that subject. Now can anyone answer that? And our politicians talk about having every infrastructure for good education!

I would like to quote what our great leader Mahatma says:

"Recall the face of the poorest
and the weakest man,
and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him".

Let this be remembered by one and all in this world.

The Quest for Happiness

Happiness is not in how much we have, but in how much we enjoy in what we have at the present moment. It all depends on the manner in which we meet the daily events occurring in our lives. The quest for happiness is incessant. Happiness in reality comes from peace of mind and this in fact comes from self-discipline. A daily effort from each individual should not be difficult as, gradually one gets habituated to it.
One must be determined to be happy. Come what may, one must see to it that negative thinking is avoided as it totally retards the progress of any individual. By setting a goal in life, and thinking positively about achieving it, one can certainly reach it to attain happiness. Today we all are facing a competitive and a fast moving world. Most people face a common problem today. They get distressed about what they do not have, rather than trying to be happy about what they do have. No person is either so happy or so unhappy as he can imagine.
The quest for happiness lies in keeping our mind occupied. All crestfallen and depressed thoughts have a great forte of encroaching the vacuum of a vacant mind. The best option for an individual is to keep himself occupied with good creative thoughts. This can be achieved by cultivating an interest in a wide variety of subjects. These can keep one very busy and thus block the way for those thoughts that can rip off one's mental peace and eqilibrium.
Man counts happiness in various dimensions; and the faster he follows it the swifter it flies from him. The fact is that everything promises happiness to us at a distance, but when we come nearer, either we fall short of it or it falls short of our expectations; and it becomes difficult to say which of these is the greatest disappointment. Our hopes are usually bigger than the enjoyment can satisfy.
Laughter is synonymous with happiness. One must learn to laugh from the heart, or sometimes even at themselves for the blunder that they do in their life, as that makes one feel light and fresh. When one begins to see the humorous side of their problems in their day-to-day life, then there is nothing that can depress them.
As SENECA truly quoted,"The true felicity of life is to be free from anxieties and perturbations; to understand and do our duties to God and man, and to enjoy the present without any serious dependence on the future".