Renovation work at Atelier Shanti
Since June, all the children of the primary and secondary classes have returned to their respective schools and they are now completing the first trimester.
But their studies are disturbed by a problem for which they and their families are not at all responsible: many have not yet received their books and textbooks. Why?
Regional elections were held last May and Tamil Nadu has a new majority of government. However, the previous Chief Minister (CM), in power for the last four years, had added, in most of the textbooks of this Academic year, a few pages and paragraphes where he praised his policy during the past legislative period. Of course the new CM, lady heading the regional government, could not accept the distribution or the sale of these books, praising his opponent and therefore she decided to commission a new series of books, without the criticized paragraphes.
The cost of publishing these books is about Rs 200 crores and Rs 400 crores if we count the cumulative cost of the previous and a fresh edition (about 70 million euros). In addition, a delay of several months to print tens, if not hundreds, of millions of books needed for the children in Tamil Nadu & Puducherry (with a population equivalent to that of France).
Some wise minds have brought the case to Justice. The Supreme Court of India ordered an immediate stop of the new edition order and the removal or masking, of all the pages concerned, on each book!
Today, the first trimester almost finished, many public and subsidized private schools have finally received all or part of the books, while many students, including those on private schools, have not yet received them. Some subjects were photocopied, Volontariat did it, to help the students. Parents have paid for printing books, published on the internet. At schools, many students share the same books .... Everybody tries to manage on his own!
Those who suffer from this situation, happening due to the politician game, are the young students of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, studying in bad conditions and at risk of losing one year for a problem that does not concern them!
