REDUCED TO stealing coconuts – the future of our CHILDREN’S
EDUCATION..
 The heart wrenching story of a little girl forced to steal coconuts
to sell because her parents could not afford to pay the monies the
school wanted, brings out a tragedy we must all take note. There are
many sides to the dilemma. On one side, the state cannot be expected to
fund everything in the schools – although free education as a concept
must and can be maintained for students from low income groups to
benefit from, in this day and age, there must be certain limitations. On
the other, the poor are unable to sometimes to find a daily wage to keep
themselves fed let alone pay the monies required by the school. Yet, a
balance must be struck in order to ensure survival.
There are many arguments taking place regarding why and how a little
girl came to the desperate point of having to steal coconuts from a
neighbour in order to sell them and give the money the school needed.
There is also speculation as to how she came to be produced in court
over a few coconuts when there is so much of crime taking place every
day.
Modern world
If we go by the rule book, small or big, stealing is stealing. The
fact that a desperate little girl is involved doesn’t reduce the weight
of the crime. Yet, if we could look at the incident through the eyes of
the child, we maybe able to understand – not with sympathy alone but
also with empathy.
 It isn’t easy for a child to understand the depths of poverty the
family is living with when faced with the things of the modern world. It
is no secret that most teenagers bother their parents asking for money
to buy the mod-cons. From high priced jeans to deck shoes and mobile
phones, the teenagers constantly pester their parents for money to buy
them. Rich or poor, the children know no financial boundaries – for
most, once their heart is set on something, they will not rest until
they can somehow claim ownership to it. In this instant age, children
don’t really like to wait for anything – they do not want to collect
rupee by rupee for a while before they could buy what they cherish. They
want it here and now. On the other hand, there are children who
contribute to the family’s income; they engage in such pursuits after
school. They understand the need for money from an early age and feel a
strong sense of responsibility and commitment. For most, childhood is
spent doing chores such as looking after younger siblings or helping
parents earn a daily living.
Road to prosperity
Poverty can be tough on young minds. The world has advanced much
since the days when poverty was quite romanticized in literature. My
fifteen year old son asked me the other day about a story found in one
textbook which to my mind, somehow glorified poverty. While
painstakingly highlighting the poverty faced by the people in the story,
I could not help but wonder why and how the author left out the values
of seeking ways to end that poverty – values such as hard work,
commitment to goals and a positive state of mentality could easily have
been inculcated in the young minds reading the story. We live in a
complex world with the glitz to match. There are technologically
advanced products such as computers and mobile phones, gadgets aplenty,
many kinds of exciting and tasty food and look-good clothing everyone
wishes to own. It’s a far cry from the simple world once inhabited by
previous generations. In such an advanced world, the youngsters cannot
really be blamed for wanting to claim ownership to the many conveniences
they watch on TV or watch their friends own. They, as the owners of
tomorrow, do not believe in the romanticized version of poverty – they
seek ways of getting out of it. While they must understand the evils of
stealing and dealing which may cut a short road to prosperity but will
ultimately lead to disaster, the young must be given a sound
understanding of old world values that will always equip them to get out
of poverty in a constructive manner.
As always, we as a society need to find a balance between doing what
has always been done and doing things new and afresh in a world that has
changed beyond recognition. The grate Mahatma Gandhi put it this way –
let the wind come in and you can enjoy its freshness but do not let it
carry you away.
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