Alfred Nobel the inventor of ‘Dynamite’ once said “when i saw that people misuse my creation and use it to kill other people, i regret my invention”. The inventor of loudspeaker would have felt the very disheartened when it was used to create noise pollution. Now the Haryana government’s decision has added another dimension to it.
The state education department of Haryana has suggested that school authorities tell parents to encourage their children to get up early in the morning at 4.30am. The reasoning behind the order is that the extra time will be available to study and prepare for upcoming assessments. Interestingly to help the students, the government had thoughtfully requested Masjids and Mandirs to play sound at a higher volume using speakers in the early hours of the morning.
Also Read: Manohar Lal Khattar’s political career has reached its expiry date
Decision having no substantive base
Haryana Education Minister Kanwar Pal Gujjar staunchly defended the state government’s directive on Monday. Gujjar suggested that announcements from religious places could provide a beneficial wake-up call for children in the morning.
“For the benefit of the children, we have called for announcements by religious places in the morning and asked to wake up the children for studies. There is nothing wrong in this. It is said that getting up early in the morning to study sharpens the mind. It is our effort. Those who wake up early in the morning benefit in terms of health and education. If society and parents cooperate in this effort, children will surely study well,” said Gujjar.
It's our effort. The one who wakes up early in morning gets benefits in terms of health & education. If society & parents cooperate in this effort, children will surely study well: Haryana Edu Minister K Pal on using temple-mosque speakers to wake up children early in the morning pic.twitter.com/AgYTE1sEla
— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2022
The Haryana government has demonstrated its commitment to aiding students in their board exam preparation by calling for announcements from local temples and mosques to help them wake-up early in the morning.
In order to wake students up early in the morning Khattar government forgot that, the sound coming out won’t only will be heard by children. It will also disturb the sleep of elderly and younger people. Gujjar’s suggestion regarding board exams applies to 10th and 12th grade students, however this decision will adversely affect those who are in the early grades of primary school.
Some individuals may prefer to work late into the night and may not desire to rise early at 4:30 a.m. They have a well-settled routine regarding that. Definitely, they would not like to be disturbed. The order has a potential to create distortion their creative process. They will have to coerce themselves to work or engage in some other activity on next day.
But coercion won’t affect only night owls. Ironically, the children due to which they are being coerced to change the routine are themselves under external force. These children are being coerced to read during hours they like to relax.
It is widely accepted that effective learning requires an intrinsic motivation on the part of the learner. No amount of external force can successfully impart knowledge to someone unless they are willing to put in the effort to absorb it. Education is a self-driven process of discovery, and only when the individual has an inner desire to learn can true progress be made. Coercive control almost always fails in education system.
Oh! The irony
The order does not just go against the common sense, but it also stands in contradiction to stance by Government of India (GoI) as well as party ruling it (BJP). GoI is taking strides to create a cleaner and more prosperous environment. It has prohibited the use of horns with jarring sounds. There is a hefty Rs 10,000 fine for needless honking. Additionally, non-honking zone have been created.
But the Khattar government is not adhering to the principle. The government is unfortunately failing to take into account the potential for increased noise pollution after its decision.
Also Read: Prevention is better than cure; Haryana is ready for the Khalistani challenge
The Khattar government sitting in Chandigarh is seemingly disregarding all the efforts the Modi government is doing by asking Mandirs and Masjids to use loudspeakers on high volume. It is our hope that he will take a more well-rounded approach to weighing his options and reconsider his decision.
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