Friday, July 29, 2011

The price of a school

is this the example we want to set for our children?

My great grandfather, Sir CP Ramaswami Aiyar, taught me never to sidestep procedures or get things done either by bribing someone or using the family name.
The campaigns launched by Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev may look bizarre to the political class, but the sad thing is that corruption, nepotism, favouritism and greed has become the biggest cancer eating away at the fabric of our society. Even children have fallen victims to the epidemic of corruption. No one can blame them because they ape their parents.
Long ago, I took the decision not to bribe anybody. I may have suffered setbacks but, in the long run, I have come through successfully, with my head held high.
We have a trust established over 100 years ago for the education of children in some of the most backward areas of Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. Every year, over 500 girls graduate from the girls' school, but only a few enter college, as there are limited seats in girls-only colleges and rural/semi-rural families stay away from co-ed colleges. So we bought 10 acres, as per the university's requirements, in a small village, with the intention of setting up an arts and science college. We did not get any response from the government even after several months.
Finally, we were asked for Rs25 lakh for clearing the file. I and my entire board of trustees decided not to pay a single rupee as bribe. The minister informed us that since our trust was a charity, the file could be cleared if we paid Rs20 lakh. We preferred to dispose of the land, rather than pay a bribe. However, an honest bureaucrat heard of the incident and came forward to have the file cleared without any bribes.
I may have succeeded, but think of the millions who don't have any contacts. And also think of the thousands of students who are forced to discontinue their education for lack of facilities: potential Indira Gandhis, Indira Nooyis, Chanda Kochars, and Sunita Williams. When will our country be free of corruption?

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