Childhood is children's right
Just about a few years ago, it wasn't a practice to send children younger than 7 years to school. They could spend all that time with their parents and other family members who lived with them. That's the reason why we believe home is the first school of a child. That's where the seeds of values and imagination grow. Whatever children learn in school used to be an extension of their learning at home. Children learn their language and mother tongue from their mothers. A mother teaches in a rather unconventional method to her kids. She doesn't teach the rules of grammar to her kid. The child doesn't even know it is being taught something. The child begins to learn unconsciously listening to the mother's affectionate expressions of language.
Children often speak what they hear from their mother when they begin to say their first words, it's their mother's language. The child becomes a part of the society by learning from his or her parents’ behaviour too. Only after children's learning is complete in the house, should the doors of school open for them. But in the last two years, things have drastically changed for the kids. Now they have to be admitted into convent schools soon as, or even before they are born.
Parents and the system force the child into LKG and UKG even when the child barely begins to speak. Which means child is away from home even before it completes 3 years of age. Even before the mother finishes her teachings, the child is snatched away from her and school books are imposed on the child. The bond between the child and the mother reasons from being strengthened for good. This is one of the main reasons the bond between kids and parents is getting weaker with every passing generation. Because they don't get to know each other. Even before they realise, kids are robbed of the affection of parents.
Now teachers in school can barely make good for the affection kids would have lost out at home. Children are forced to face strange people at barely three years of age and bear the burden of books and learning, that's imposed on them. This is the main reason for their poor self esteem that creeps in at this stage which gradually takes over the child's personality. Children begin to carry books from a very young age and home work instills such fear in them that they suffer the consequences of this for many many years to come. Without being able to shower affection, the parents spend time disciplining childern to do homework and other stuff that has been made order of the day, thus ruining the secure fabric of this beautiful bond.
Kids barely enjoy their childhood or remember good things about their younger days owing to all this. With things being this bad, the central government's decision to reduce books and home work for children is the most welcome change. The government had ordered for the homework to be done away with for kids studying in first and second grade, and has also specified the burden on books to be reduced to bare minimum.
First and second standard students have to be taught only language and maths, and nothing else. And students from third to fifth classes should be additionally taught EVS and maths as specified by NCERT. If this order is implemented in its right spirit, children can be saved from this demon of homework and have a normal childhood. They not only escape unnecessary homework, but don't have to carry heavy books in their bags. They can spend time with their parents without feeling the burden or work or fear the class teacher next day.
Childhood is a right that belongs to the children. No one can snatch it from them. Neither the parents not the educational institutions have any right to snatch it from them for their prestige. Children should go to school only after they have completed their learning at home and not to ensure their parents’ false prestige. If parents feel kids should secure high marks to maintain their glory as the parents of the child, it becomes some kind of child labour in basic terms. Kids don't go to school only to secure marks and it should never be so that kids are forced to make schools and parents proud only when they secure good marks. It is the responsibility of school and parents to ensure the learning happens through fun and not as a punishment.
The centre shouldn't rest after issuing this order. The work does not end there. It should also ensure effective implementation of the order by schools. Even parents must question those schools which do not implement the order well. They must also ensure their kids don't turn out into marks horses. If parents and educational institutions come together, a thorough change can be bright into the educational system in our country. We need to understand children have to naturally evolve into fine beings than be forced to grow up fast beyond their level of comprehension. Only this can help their future get better with time and for generations to come.
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Lost a good friend; void cannot be filled: Fadnavis mourns Ajit Pawar’s passing
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday described Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s tragic death in a plane crash as unbelievable, and said he had lost a good friend.
Fadnavis said “today” (January 28) will be a government holiday and there will be a three-day state mourning as a mark of respect to Pawar.
Ajit Pawar’s death has left a void that will never be filled, he said. “After working closely together, it is unbelievable that he is no more,” Fadnavis said.
Talking to reporters, Fadnavis described Pawar as a people’s leader who knew the state well and had a deep understanding of the issues in Maharashtra. He said it takes several years to build and establish such leadership.
Fadnavis said he had apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the tragedy. The CM said he had also spoken with Ajit Pawar’s cousin Supriya Sule and his son Parth Pawar.
“Both (Deputy CM) Eknath Shinde and I are leaving for Baramati now. Once their entire family gathers in Baramati, we will share further details,” he said.
The entire state stands by Pawar’s family and his party NCP in this hour of grief, he added.
Ajit Pawar, 66, and four other persons were killed after an aircraft carrying them crashed in Maharashtra’s Pune district on Wednesday morning, officials said. The incident occurred when the plane carrying Pawar and others landed near Baramati, they said.
Several state BJP leaders, including Ashish Shelar, Ravindra Chavan and Chandrashekhar Bawankule, expressed deep grief over Pawar’s passing.
“This heart-wrenching incident has left the mind numb. Maharashtra has lost an experienced, dutiful and resolute leader,” state minister Shelar said.
Pawar left a distinct imprint on the state’s politics through his strong grip over administration, decisiveness and relentless drive for Maharashtra’s all-round progress. “Firmness, discipline, punctuality and tireless dedication were defining aspects of his personality,” he said.
BJP state president Ravindra Chavan said Maharashtra’s politics was unimaginable without Pawar. He said Pawar was known as a dynamic leader with a powerful command over administration and an unwavering focus on the state’s comprehensive development.
He said Pawar held the record for serving the longest tenure as deputy CM in the state’s history and left an indelible mark while handling key portfolios such as irrigation, energy and finance. “With his passing, Maharashtra has lost a firm, disciplined, punctual and indefatigable leader. This void can never be filled,” Chavan said.
Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule described Pawar as a senior friend and guide. “Even now, it is difficult to accept that this tragedy has really happened,” he said. Pawar would be remembered as a true people’s leader who gave clear direction and unstoppable momentum to Maharashtra’s all-round development, Bawankule said.
Recalling Pawar’s immense administrative experience, Bawankule said he had personally sought the NCP leader’s advice on several occasions.
“The loss of Ajitdada is not merely the departure of one leader; it is a profound loss for Maharashtra itself. The nation has lost a visionary statesman, and I have lost a dear elder friend and guide,” Bawankule said, adding that the reality of Pawar no longer being among them felt impossible to accept.
VIDEO | Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis expresses grief over the demise of Deputy CM Ajit Pawar in an aircraft crash. He says, “This morning, a very tragic incident occurred. In extremely unforeseen circumstances, the news of the unfortunate demise of our state’s deputy chief… pic.twitter.com/sKIKJ5FvRW
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 28, 2026
