Dilemma...made simpler

The "English" language is vast in know...yet today I seem to be at a complete loss of words....I have been providing technical support to a programme called "Pardarshita" which works for the economically weaker sections of the society. But working for it sometimes makes me wonder "am I prepared to witness the ground realities of our systems...and as a result...try to change them...or do I accept them the way they are...assuming that what difference can only a handful of us make"

Today i visited the Nehru camp...a slum area in east delhi...several parents came and surrounded me there...throwing questions about their child's admission...The govt norms allow for a 10% quota (announced in 2005) in close to 397 public schools around delhi to provide education to the children of this part of the society.

Is it enough to merely lay such a "quota" on paper....or is it also essential to justify this provision??....while a lot of parents did manage to get their kids admitted in the initial years of the announcement...the situation seems to have become out of control now...to the extent that the parents are given application forms and charged a whopping Rs 1,000 per form...yet told at that very instance that their child will not be admitted!!! i mean how worse can it get from here!!!...the 10% reservation goes in satiating the needs of the kids of staff members...or of rich class...who perhaps are ready to flush in some extra bucks...

Look at the irony...parents are willing to save money...starve themselves....make all the compromises...for that one hope...but their enthusiasm is crushed by such intricate circumstances...I really do not know how are we going to handle this....but our team is certainly fighting for it...the only consolation being...that if there were no such promises, these would be mere content people and if promises existed but no consequent breaches, then today i wouldn’t have been a part of making a difference!!!