My mom: what happened? you came in late yesterday?
Maid: had to go to school to get books for both my boys. they did not tell me that there was a parent teacher meeting yesterday. Knew it only after i reached school
My mom: Oh. how do they study now?
Maid: i got the books yesterday. they are supposed to study and do the homework. i have to then take their work and submit it in school after a month.
**Laughing***
Maid: they don't have to go to school. i have to go to submit the homework that they do. I paid twenty eight thousand (Rs 28,000) for the elder son and nineteen thousand (Rs 19,000) for the younger one. Almost ten thousand rupees difference. They gave 9 books for the elder one and 5 books for the younger one. Just 4 books difference and for that 10,000 rupees extra.
My mom: which class are they studying?
Maid: elder one is in 5th and younger one is in 2nd standard. i have to look for some other school for the elder one. this school he is in has classes only till 5th.
My mom: Oh, there is XXXXX school in that YYYYY road right. Why don't you put him in that. It is a good school
Maid: neenga vera!!! that school has rules - only students whose parents are educated can study in that school and the fees is way high.
**laughs again*** at this age, me or my husband cannot study and get a degree.
They do have a quota for lower income people like us but for that, one needs to have high recommendation and it usually goes to people, the authorities know. We don't know anyone. what to do!!!
My mom: really!! that is bad. then start looking for other schools for him.
Maid: yes. have to look next year. me and my husband are not educated. we want our children to study well and get a good education.
***they then moved on to other topics and she finally left for the day***
I felt very sorry for families like my maid - people who cannot afford to send their children to a good school even if they want to.
I know there have been a lot of discussions and articles on how schools are selective in taking in children based on their parents's education and the job they have. They have their own reasons for doing it.
This is so wrong. The school is supposed to coach students on the different subjects. Why do they need parents's to support them at home. There should be an alternate approach for students whose parents are not educated.
Why can't we make education free for everyone in this country - good education for all children without any discrimination and free of cost. No private schools at all.
I know that this is never gonna happen in our country. Still, one can always dream for good things, no???
