Dr. Charanjit Atwal Urges Punjabis Abroad To Adopt A School In Their Native Village!
“The Speaker has a very important role in that of controlling the House and therefore he must be independent, neutral and impartial,” said Dr. Charanjit Atwal, House Speaker, Punjab. “When you have both the government and opposition forces functioning properly, allowed to air their respective agenda and you can listen intently and moderate, then the Speaker is doing a very good job as then democracy is functioning as it should.”
By R. Paul Dhillon
SURREY – Veteran Punjab Assembly and national Parliament House Speaker Dr. Charanjit Atwal has made education his number one priority both as a politician with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) party and as an individual, saying it is the foundation which great nations are built and if Punjab and the entire nation of India is to make the great leap forward, it should make equality of education, especially at the primary and secondary level, the key fundamental right of all citizens despite the economic, class or caste differences.
“Education is the utmost important for all humans, all nations because without it you can’t be a good citizen, politician, economist, social being,” said Atwal, who stopped by the LINK offices on Thursday for sit-down interview, recounting his long career in Indian politics that began in his student days in 1957 and has seen him being elected MLA in Punjab and MP to the national assembly numerous times, which eventually led to him being appointed Speaker of House in 1997 first in Punjab and later as a Deputy House Speaker nationally in parliament in New Delhi.
“Education is the foundation of every great society and we cannot ignore that if we want to build a great country. We need to stress basic education and make primary and secondary education compulsory because it is a fundamental right under the constitution.
“But more important than the right to an education is in fact the ‘right education’ for students, by which I mean that we need an equal opportunity and equality of education for all the children of our nation. We can’t have the public schools begin English curriculum at grade 6 level and others starting English right from Kindergarten – No! The syllabus must be the same for all students as that is the only way to make sure that when they reach higher education, they are prepared to go beyond the secondary school level and even those who don’t have a good understanding of the world,” Atwal said.
Atwal, who was first elected as SAD MLA in 1977, said he is pushing to get changes made to the education system in Punjab, including bringing in mandatory exams starting from Grade 1 so students can prepare better for higher levels, but that change is slow. Although he isn’t one to toot his own government’s horn, but Atwal said he is proud of his government’s small steps like finally hiring thousands of new teachers after a neglect in this regard for more than a decade.
“We have done some good things like hiring 45,000-50,000 new teachers for government schools as they are the backbone of the school system and without them we cannot really educate the young properly,” he said. “I would like to see five teachers per school in primary education and not one.”
Atwal’s ongoing initiatives for his education first agenda includes an Adopt A School initiative for all NRIs, especially Punjabis, to go back to their villages and adopt a school, which they can support with mere interest on their deposited money in Punjab.
“Many NRIs go back and make a gate or some other such thing which is great but not very effective. So I urge them to go back and deposit their money – 10 to 20 lakhs ($18,000-$35,000) – in a bank in their village and use the interest to support their village school in whatever way they see fit,” Atwal said.
Despite his long career as an effective House Speaker with a keen ability to be neutral and impartial, thereby earning a solid reputation as a key player in the working of democracy, helping to pass bills in the House while giving adequate time to the Opposition to vent their anger at the Government, Atwal remains a local Akali soldier, never having shifted alliances due to not getting ticket to run or some other issue with his party.
“I was a born Akali and will always remain one as that is the party that I belong to and have dedicated my life to,” he said.
When asked what makes an effective speaker in the House where opposing political forces can get out of control and cause a big ruckus, Atwal said it is a very delicate balance but a good Speaker is the one who finds a balance and recognizes that despite his party affiliations, in the House, his role is that one to serve the Supreme Authority of the House, which includes giving equal time to both the governing party and to the Opposition.
“The Speaker has a very important role in that of controlling the House and therefore he must be independent, neutral and impartial,” he said. “When you have both the government and opposition forces functioning properly, allowed to air their respective agenda and you can listen intently and moderate, then the Speaker is doing a very good job as then democracy is functioning as it should.”
Atwal is proud that for the first time in 10-12 years, he was able to get both the governing party leaders and the Opposition leaders together for a year-end Parliamentary picture and a get-together for dinner at the CM Prakash Badal’s residence, which he feels is a tribute to the fairness of his role as a Speaker of the House.
