The report, " Shrdi may soon have world-class education centre" (TOI,30/7) , is a ray of hope in the present dismal educational scene in Maharashtra with so many students not finding seats in colleges in Mumbai and elsewhere. Many municipal schools in Mumbai have been closed and an educational trust which runs two private colleges in Andheri is planning to close these institutions. Shrines like Shri Siddhivinayak Temple Trust should follow the good example set by Shirdi Saibaba Shrine Trust and set up schools and colleges in Mumbai. The least the temple trust could do is to adopt all the Municipal schools in the city, which are mostly attended by the poor, and provide all facilities to the students and the teachers. Special attention should be given to training the teachers so that poor need not go to the private schools for lack of good teaching in municipal schools.
A letter to the Times of India,August 4, 2008
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