Contest Essays
YEAR 2 AC (After Coronavirus): A Future Imagined by Youth
Akshat Gupta
Lotus Valley International School
Sector 126 , Noida
Uttar Pradesh
Weekly Winner
Pan India Online Essay Contest 2021- 3rd Edition
Category – Children
Essay Topic:
The COVID-19 pandemic has been marked by schools closing across the world. What lessons can we draw to make education systems more resilient for the future?
The word school is derived from the Greek word “Schole”, which means “lecture place”; the COVID-19 pandemic reaffirmed the fact that our homes are our first lecture place.
As the pandemic spread around the world, school systems are forced to shut down. To date, the education community has primarily focused on the different strategies to continue schooling, including lively discussions on the role of education technology versus the distribution of printed paper packets. There has been relatively limited discussion on the know-how and efficient use of technology to develop and establish a robust system, which can be an efficient tool for routine and also workable in emergency scenarios like pandemics so that the impact of any such uncertainties on children can be minimized.
As of 30th March, more than 1.5 billion learners have been affected by school closures. If we compare the school closures during the global crises, such as the 1918 Spanish flu and World War II, the level of education disruption is much larger currently. As 90 percent of the world’s young people are enrolled in primary school compared to 40 percent in 1920.
COVID 19 has taught us many new lessons that can help us strengthen our existing education system and mobilize its reachability to the rarest of the corners of society that gets affected worst in emergencies Education during conflict emergencies gets immediately suspended and is always last to get restored. However, an online system can be more effective for education and fun activities during a pandemic situation.
Most important is to include life-saving health and safety messages in online teaching. Remote learning programs are the key, be it printed materials, online sessions through the internet or Radio.
According to UNICEF report (1999), argued that in crisis, education activities should be designed as rapid response activities with longer development goals. This principle can help the education community to respond better to the COVID–19 pandemic scenarios. However, it means that school administrators and educators need to find ways, that the immediate response activities can lay the foundation of long-term goals.
Continuity of education should be the key focus to support children’s resilience and well-being and reduce anxiety during the emergency crisis, which helps them adjust to the new normal. There are some predictable risks for students who do not have access to technology as remote learning runs the risk of drastically widening the gap between young people with available resources.
Online cybercrime is also one of the areas of grave concern and stringent laws should be put in place to save children getting trapped being unaware of the consequences of certain cyber activities.
Therefore, would like to conclude by saying that creative and immediate responses lay the foundation of building back a better, more efficient, and effective system. Returning to normal might seems to be no longer an option, but this scenario will help in catalyzing more immense and drastic reforms, which are very much required to turn around the age-old existing educational system. After all, “The whole purpose of education is to convert mirrors into windows”.
Contest Essays
UNESCO and Takhte launch third book of youth essays ‘Year 2 AC (After Coronavirus)’
Continuing with the momentum of the previous editions of their pan India essay contest, the UNESCO New Delhi Cluster and Takhte launched the third edition of the Essay contest book, ‘Year 2 AC (After Coronavirus): A Future Imagined by Youth’ on 17 December 2021.
The book contains a compilation of 100 winning essays written by young Indians and presents their unique perspectives on the challenges that youth face in the wake of the COVID pandemic – from disruption to education, to massive increases in the use of digital challenges. The contest presented them with a platform to imagine solutions to these challenges, both for the short and long terms. Over 900 submissions from across 30 States and Union Territories were received.
The book is a must-read to understand the observations, perspectives, and foresight of young writers across India. It includes a plethora of issues covered by the young writers, varying from education to culture, community to biodiversity, and the environment to disruptions in tourism. The anthology of essays is distinctive and unique, providing an important space for young people to demonstrate their knowledge, capacities, and drive for action.
“This book serves as a repository of reflections drawn directly from the minds of young people across India. What is so inspiring about these essays, however, is that a common thread can be found in young people’s desire and energy for change. They are demonstrating that they have the knowledge and wherewithal to step up and be part of the solution as we recover from the challenges of the pandemic,” said Eric Falt, UNESCO New Delhi Director.
“Writing can be therapeutic. Children and youth must pen their thoughts as it can be incredibly relieving during these challenging times. Channelling the energy to the exclusive way of expressing and journaling can help one find better solutions,” said Goldie Kasturia, Founder -Takhte & VOV.
Reposted from UNESCO, New Delhi website
The book can be purchased from Takhte’s cart https://takhte.in/cart.php
Contest Essays
YEAR 2 AC (After Coronavirus): A Future Imagined by Youth
Eeshan Sonak
The National Academy of Legal Studies and Research
Hyderabad
Telangana
Weekly Winner
(Pan India Online Essay Contest 2021- 3rd Edition)
Category – Youth
Essay Topic:
The pandemic has highlighted the service gaps with respect to communities in rural areas, urban slums, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and other backward classes. How can we create more equitable health systems in which we do not leave out the most vulnerable sections of society?
Justice Albie Sacha, the legendary South African Jurist, while hearing the Soobramoney case, was faced with a moral dilemma. Mr Soobramoney, a patient suffering from chronic renal failure, approached the South African Supreme Court asking to order the state hospital’s dialysis service to keep death away for as long as its machines could keep him alive. The hospital’s limited resources meant that only a few renal failure patients could be administered life-saving dialysis treatment. Mr Soobramoney did not qualify for treatment at the State’s expense, as he was unlikely to recover even after treatment and only hoped to gain a few years of life.
Reading about this case and the difficult choice the Court had to make in refusing to interfere was my first introduction to the moral complexity of the enforcement of socio-economic rights. I learnt that resources are always limited. By their very nature, socio-economic rights involve rationing. Such rationing cannot be considered a restriction of the right to access services like healthcare, but the very precondition for its proper exercise. Unlike the right to free speech, which by its very nature is not rationed, the right to access health care is shared, often competitively, with other holders of the right. Therefore, socio-economic rights must have different legal characteristics from the exercise of a classical individual civil right that is autonomous and complete in itself.
While the framing of our Constitution guaranteed first-generation civil and political rights, it has been far from successful in ensuring a progressive realization of second-generation socio-economic rights such as food, housing, health, education and welfare. The inequitable distribution of services has always been regarded as an inherited consequence of past injustice and no indications of a failure to meet current societal obligations.
In this essay, as a law student, I shall use the law and public policy lens to approach the inequitable distribution of healthcare services. As I see it, there are two co-related issues involved: first, the scarcity of healthcare services and resources, and second, the cornering of the few available resources by the dominant classes. In rural India, the first issue poses a, more significant problem. In contrast, in the urban metropolis, we see that the issue is not the inadequacy of facilities but their skewed distribution.
In addressing the first issue, I would draw a parallel to the environment I am most comfortable with- the law school setting. Like most law students in the top tier, National Law Universities seek corporate placements, many of the most gifted medical students seek jobs at high paying private hospitals in urban areas or even abroad. Apart from the existing policies; there should be measures that incentivize a civic sense of community service and social impact. I believe that this model would better tackle the crisis of inadequacy of medical services in rural India. However, understandably, the issue of capacity building in the healthcare sector is a mammoth task that must be progressively achieved.
What is less spoken of and equally destructive is the second issue- the cornering of existing services by a few. In the realm of health, no individual can be faulted for using their resources to gain the best possible treatment or care. I think the burden of addressing this concern rests on those formulating healthcare policy. Private hospitals often enjoy far greater infrastructural facilities and other resources vis-à-vis government hospitals. Apart from strengthening Government hospitals to bridge this wide gap, we could have a policy mandatorily requiring private hospitals to play a more significant part in the cost-free treatment of vulnerable sections of society. In sum, I see instilling a civic sense in the populace and introducing policies as the way forward in addressing the issue of our inequitable health systems.
Contest Essays
YEAR 2 AC (After Coronavirus): A Future Imagined by Youth
Ashmita Karmakar
Amity International School
Noida
Uttar Pradesh
Weekly Winner
(Pan India Online Essay Contest 2021- 3rd Edition)
Category – Children
Essay Topic:
In times of hardship, our community, culture and traditions help maintain our social and mental wellbeing. What are some of the aspects of your culture that have helped you and your community?
WAS IT HALF-EMPTY OR HALF-FULL?
As Trisha pressed the ‘Leave’ button, she sighed in distress. She averted most of the homework assigned by her English teacher. Today, she dropped yet another topic for an essay beyond her understanding. She exclaimed to herself, “How does she expect us to write a 200-word essay on the ‘Positive Side of the pandemic’?”. Trisha rushed to her grandmother, her problem-solver and support system.
As she knocked on the door impatiently, Trisha’s grandmother already knew that this knock of impatience must have taken birth from a homework dilemma that her granddaughter often encounters. She called Trisha in. And, with her grumpy slight frown, Trisha cribbed, “Dadi, I think English ma’am is an alien. How can she give such absurd topics to write essays on?” Granny laughed, and as she was about to comment, her talkative granddaughter continued. “You won’t believe what she gave us for homework today”, she continued. “She told us to write an essay on the ‘Positive Side of the Pandemic’, that too in 200 words”.
“I am positive that she was joking. How is there any positivity in the pandemic, nothing good has happened during this crisis! Millions died around the world; economies fell, thousand were left jobless, and..” she went on complaining about the Pandemic. Grandmother didn’t interrupt Trisha until she paused to catch hold of her breath, and she started speaking. “Trisha, any situation in life must be looked upon from two sides or perspectives. Every situation, including this pandemic, has both a positive and a negative side. You kept on complaining, as you only looked at its negative side. It is true that during today’s time, the negative impact of the pandemic is more prevalent, but this doesn’t mean that one can overlook its positive impact. Although, the positive may be in the minority, still, it is there. Your teacher has assigned you this Home-Work to encourage young children like you, widen your perspective, and not only rely upon one side of the situation. I hope you can understand what I am trying to explain.”
“No, no, Dadi. I am not able to understand. If it is so, then can you please tell me WHAT are Positive Impacts are? How can I look from a different perspective when only one perspective is present in this situation?”
Grandmother started narrating a story to Trisha. As they reached the end of the story, she asked Trisha, “What do you think, dear, was the glass half-empty or half-full?”. Trisha replied, “Granny, I think the glass is half-full; the protagonist should understand this, shouldn’t he? He should always look at things with a positive outlook!”. Grandmother, alas, said, “Trisha, just like the glass, every situation can be either looked upon through a positive viewpoint or a negative one. Like, the same glass, could be half-empty for one person and half-full for another, we can see the pandemic, too, with a positive outlook. It not only has its share of positive impacts, but it can also lead to some ever-lasting beautiful changes in the world. Now, put on your thinking caps and start working on your homework, okay sweetie?”
“Yes, granny”, she excitedly remarked. “I will get nothing but A+ grade in this essay, I promise. Thanks a ton, Dadi, you are the best!!”. She ran to her room with an enlightened mind and an energised soul.
The next day, she read out her essay and finished by saying, “In the end, I would like to mention if the ‘Glass was half-full or half-empty”. I think it was always full as the bright side always overshadows the dark side, no matter how dark the side is! Thank you!” As she muted herself, a huge round of applause and an array of compliments awaited her.
After her presentation, she rushed to her grandmother and again knocked impatiently. But this time, her Granny knew that it was a happily different knock.
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