I like the positive thinking in NE people wanting to learn languages of the east. If the gates are opened for trade with the neighboring countries, knowledge of their languages will be an important factor. Not all of these countries use English in everyday life. Mind you, this is from a people survey and that is important. It did not come from the ivory towers of university or college.
Dilip
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Guwahati, Saturday, November 26, 2005
Look East policy spurs NE people to learn languages
By A Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Nov 25 What do the people of the North-East want for themselves in the development process? Well, they want to learn the language of their South East Asian neighbours to reap the benefits of the Centres Look East policy. They want schools in their villages to be equipped with modern laboratories and computers. They want value education and good roads along with proper medical facilities.
These, and more, are part of the revelations that have come out in a survey conducted in the region by the New Delhi-based Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research (C-NES) with the support of the North Eastern Council (NEC), Shillong. The survey, the biggest of its kind conducted in the region, is part of the NECs major exercise in participative planning. Known as NER Vision 2020, it has been dubbed the Peoples Plan.
Briefing newspersons here about the exercise after the last of its ten workshops to fine-tune the Vision, C-NES managing trustee and prominent journalist Sanjoy Hazarika said this evening that the draft report of the survey is the culmination of the process of consultation with the people towards formulating the NER 2020 Vision. Over 50,000 respondents were approached all over the region as part of the exercise. In Assam alone, volunteers from ten partner NGOs fanned across 335 villages in 23 districts to get the views of 21,000 ordinary people.
It is an effort to record the voice of the voiceless, Hazarika said. The exercise began in July and the final report would be submitted to the NEC soon to help it formulate a comprehensive plan to take the region ahead on all development parameters. The idea is to bring popular ideas to the policy level. The people are being involved in the consultation process. That is the heart of the survey, he said.
The survey found that the people of the region are keen on learning languages like Chinese and Thai to take advantage of the Look East policy that promises to open up the region to trade and commerce with the South East Asian nations. Learning new language skills would facilitate improved trade and commerce, tourism and cultural exchanges, the people felt.
The survey also reported that the people want health sub-centres in every village with proper medical staff and medicines. They also want to be linked to bigger hospitals through ambulances. In the sphere of education, they want total literacy by 2020 with emphasis on subjects like science and mathematics. Adequate care for the mentally and physically challenged was a common demand.
In the area of communication, the survey found that the people want more access to the Internet, telephones and newspapers to help them keep abreast of affairs. Most of them also talked of the need for all-weather roads. To help improve agriculture, the people want cold storage units, which should be linked to processing units.
Peace and development go together. This was also the common feeling that came out of the survey. The common man wants self-help groups and village level institutions to be involved with the peace process. Government officials should be more humane in their dealings with the masses, the people demanded. The people desired that Panchayati Raj Institutions to be non-political, informed NEDFi deputy general manager Amiya Sarma.
The survey has revealed that the people want value education to be imparted. They are worried over the erosion of values, pointed out NEC advisor TP Khound. He said that 80 percent of the respondents were in favour of family planning and wanted piped potable water in their homes.
We are involving the people in formulating, implementing and monitoring plans, said NEC member PP Srivastava about NER 2020. All plans, from the 11th Plan onwards, would be based on the vision of the people, he said, adding that the final report of NER 2020 would be ready by next May. Before that, experts outside the government would also be consulted for inputs in specific areas, he informed. Among the primary visions of the NEC is universalisation of employment, universalisation of education and universalisation of health with stress on women and children, he said.
By A Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Nov 25 What do the people of the North-East want for themselves in the development process? Well, they want to learn the language of their South East Asian neighbours to reap the benefits of the Centres Look East policy. They want schools in their villages to be equipped with modern laboratories and computers. They want value education and good roads along with proper medical facilities.
These, and more, are part of the revelations that have come out in a survey conducted in the region by the New Delhi-based Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research (C-NES) with the support of the North Eastern Council (NEC), Shillong. The survey, the biggest of its kind conducted in the region, is part of the NECs major exercise in participative planning. Known as NER Vision 2020, it has been dubbed the Peoples Plan.
Briefing newspersons here about the exercise after the last of its ten workshops to fine-tune the Vision, C-NES managing trustee and prominent journalist Sanjoy Hazarika said this evening that the draft report of the survey is the culmination of the process of consultation with the people towards formulating the NER 2020 Vision. Over 50,000 respondents were approached all over the region as part of the exercise. In Assam alone, volunteers from ten partner NGOs fanned across 335 villages in 23 districts to get the views of 21,000 ordinary people.
It is an effort to record the voice of the voiceless, Hazarika said. The exercise began in July and the final report would be submitted to the NEC soon to help it formulate a comprehensive plan to take the region ahead on all development parameters. The idea is to bring popular ideas to the policy level. The people are being involved in the consultation process. That is the heart of the survey, he said.
The survey found that the people of the region are keen on learning languages like Chinese and Thai to take advantage of the Look East policy that promises to open up the region to trade and commerce with the South East Asian nations. Learning new language skills would facilitate improved trade and commerce, tourism and cultural exchanges, the people felt.
The survey also reported that the people want health sub-centres in every village with proper medical staff and medicines. They also want to be linked to bigger hospitals through ambulances. In the sphere of education, they want total literacy by 2020 with emphasis on subjects like science and mathematics. Adequate care for the mentally and physically challenged was a common demand.
In the area of communication, the survey found that the people want more access to the Internet, telephones and newspapers to help them keep abreast of affairs. Most of them also talked of the need for all-weather roads. To help improve agriculture, the people want cold storage units, which should be linked to processing units.
Peace and development go together. This was also the common feeling that came out of the survey. The common man wants self-help groups and village level institutions to be involved with the peace process. Government officials should be more humane in their dealings with the masses, the people demanded. The people desired that Panchayati Raj Institutions to be non-political, informed NEDFi deputy general manager Amiya Sarma.
The survey has revealed that the people want value education to be imparted. They are worried over the erosion of values, pointed out NEC advisor TP Khound. He said that 80 percent of the respondents were in favour of family planning and wanted piped potable water in their homes.
We are involving the people in formulating, implementing and monitoring plans, said NEC member PP Srivastava about NER 2020. All plans, from the 11th Plan onwards, would be based on the vision of the people, he said, adding that the final report of NER 2020 would be ready by next May. Before that, experts outside the government would also be consulted for inputs in specific areas, he informed. Among the primary visions of the NEC is universalisation of employment, universalisation of education and universalisation of health with stress on women and children, he said.
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