We may not agree with the World Economic Forum which has branded our education system as “mediocre”. This term could apply to a large number of countries. Which does not mean that we should be satisfied with our highly examination-oriented education system. This is the period we are sending tens of thousands of children to the slaughterhouse – particularly those children who come from disadvantaged families in poor socio-economic environments.

An education system has to impart not only knowledge but also skills and values to the students. To be able to achieve such goals, society at large and governments in particular have the moral responsibility to see to it that no child is denied the right to proper and appropriate education because they are socially and economically disadvantaged or live in deprived environments.

The SA RE GA MA PA singing competition for children organized by Zee TV in India highlights the talents that lie hidden in the children and are waiting to be recognised. This year’s competition saw three children from poor backgrounds being the three finalists. A tenyear old boy, Azmat Hussain, who has never been to school and cannot read and write, won the top prize. Salman Ali, who could not pay for the train ticket to Mumbai, came second and Nitin Kumar, who was working in a field growing potatoes and onions, came third. They now have a bright future, not to mention the thousands of boys and girls who, although not “ranked” in terms of academic achievement, were gifted with such musical talent that they would easily compete with adults anywhere in the world.

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