BaKhabar, April 2011, Page-9

better light a candle than curse the darkness

NGOs Can't Compete with the Government, they say!

We don't compete, just wish to complement

... moderator of Bihar Anjuman

“NGOs cannot compete with the government, so we must not operate as parallel institutions, that is, we must not try to generate our own resources. The resources owned by the government are huge and we must utilize them as much as we can.” This is a common slogan among NGOs operating with government funds, or remaining idle awaiting government funds, like the Bihar engineer who can wait a lifetime for a government job. Why government job? That’s anybody’s guess!
Bihar Anjuman does not seek government funds but stresses upon internal generation of funds through donations from within the community. So, we hear the above comments more often. “Do you think you can compete with the government?” Who wants to? Bihar Anjuman wishes to complement the government efforts rather than compete with them. Whatever little we can, we would give to the government, add some value to their efforts, rather than compete with them or with other NGOs.
“How can you give to the government?” That’s the natural next question.
We encourage enrolment in government schools. Sachar committee reported that 50% Muslims do not enroll in either a school or a madrasa. Government keeps on opening new schools, and expanding the existing ones to make it easier for the children to reach a school conveniently. Mid-day meal scheme was started under “Education for All” or “Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan” of the Central government, to raise the enrolment levels. In Bihar, the government provides bicycles to all the girl students. If all this investment by government cannot raise the enrolment levels, it is a shame for us – individuals, community or social groups, and the NGOs. We must not remain a mute witness to the failure of these government initiatives; we need to act. Can we influence the government school administration or their teachers to raise the quality of teaching? Students in government schools come from the lowest strata of the society, in terms of economic status. Their guardians have no influence on matters of the society. Teachers are educated and well-paid; they also come from higher social classes and wield far more power and influence in the society of today than the guardians of the students they are supposed to teach in government schools. This means that the teachers are not accountable to the guardians of the students they teach, unlike in private schools where guardians are clients who must be satisfied to retain them and keep earning revenues through their wards’ enrolment. Are the government teachers accountable to the government? The government gets these teachers engaged in so many non-teaching activities that they end up doing everything except teaching. They may be taken to task if the survey forms are not returned on time or if some statistical reports get delayed. They never get any reprimand for not teaching, or for poor performance of the students.

What the government is unable to do, we try to do. We fill the gaps that the governmental efforts leave, thus complementing them. We provide coaching to those students who cannot learn anything in these government schools. As a result, these students would do better in their school exams, thus raising the reputation of schools, encouraging more enrollments in them. As our coaching centres take students enrolled only in government schools, we are directly encouraging enrollment in government schools. Transforming them from “non-meritorious” to “meritorious” removes the haplessness and hopelessness among this class of the society (they see no future in this worthless educational system) who would otherwise prefer their wards to bring some money home by indulging in menial work. As we chart a future course for these students leading to quickest possible employment, they become hopeful, and sending their wards to government schools (and to our coaching centres) does not remain a waste of time any more.

Increasingly better result in the school exams that students take generates hope among their guardians, thus encouraging their neighbours to follow suit, and get their wards also enrolled. As the 10th graders get admitted in Diploma engineering courses through which they would become engineers in just 3 years after the 10th, hope of the society in the educational system shoots up dramatically. Something which the government was unable to do alone, with our intervention this became so very easy. That isn’t competing, for sure, that is complementing their efforts.
The post-matric scholarship is helpful in generating hope among the poor, if it reaches them. By making the scholarship reach this class, we complement the governmental efforts. Similarly, these scholarships would start coming to the students only after they have been enrolled in post-matric educational curriculum. A student needs money to pay for entrance exam fee, travelling to the exam centre, paying the admission fees, and for the tuition fees until the post-matric scholarship gets approved and starts coming to them. Bihar Anjuman pays for all of these fees when they are actually needed, thus helping the students get enrolled, and become eligible for the post-matric scholarship. Once the post-matric scholarship starts coming to those who are lucky, that adds some value to the life of these students. This is one more way we add value to the efforts of the government and complement their efforts.
By spending on the children of our society, we encourage spending rather than hoarding - an important constituent of National Income. Our spending enhances the educational level of the society, increases the skill-sets availability, thus adding to the factors of production, raising the GDP. So, we contribute towards the same objective, complementing the efforts of the government rather than competing with them in any way.

For India to become a super power, the muslim population must also become developed. In a democratic set-up, why should the political parties care for 15% votes? Why not focus for the 85%? And, when the environment is communally charged, the Islamization fear-factor or the boogey of media-created Jihadi agenda is the perfect tool to consolidate the 85% vote. Should muslims wait for the self-serving politicians to do something for them as well? Democratic system loudly proclaims that the net worth of 15% is no more than zero! In order to be of some value to this system, muslims would need to raise their economic networth, themselves, to become indispensable for the Indian polity. And, that is the only way to see India at the top. Muslims, as Allah’s khalifa on earth, have to lead the country (and the world) towards peace, prosperity, and happiness. Who listens to the beggar’s voice? A religious dawah machine is just as worthy as the hands that hold it. In the hands of beggars, the machine’s call towards Islam gets a response, “Yeah! You are beggar because of it, and you want me to transform me into the same, huh!” Bihar Anjuman is striving to build a culture of giving among muslims, and bring about a paradigm shift from the culture of begging, asking, demanding, or waiting for someone to give on his own

If you belong to this community, join hands in building the internal strength. Visit www.biharanjuman.org to explore the areas of your interest so that you could add some value to the mission .... Moderator, Bihar Anjuman