Short Story

Life at a Standstill

The days were the same, the people around him were the same but he was no more the same person. The recent series of events has brought about a whole new change in his perspective to life. He lay still in his bed staring at the ceiling. Days and nights made no difference to him. The whole place seemed devastated; piles of newspapers on the front door; thin layers of fine dust lay on the furniture; it seemed as if the place hadn't been in use for ages. 

One fine Friday afternoon, fifteen-year-old Ben had committed suicide. He was the life support system of his father, James. His mother had passed away a year ago due to severe illness. Twenty-three days had passed, but James still could not function. He would barely eat or drink and would just lie still in his bed. 

The doorbell rang. James shrieked and reluctantly got up and answered the door. It was his friend Ryle who immediately hugged James. He was disappointed to see him in this state of mind and said, “This was unfortunate; however, you’ll have to sail through this. Life never stops for anyone…” “And that’s the saddest part,” mumbled James. “And you know it better!” 

Discursive Writing

 

Should pupils be paid to stay in schools after the age of 14-16 years? 

Education, especially schooling, is a vital part of a student’s life. Going to school helps in the holistic development of a child. In spite of that, statistics state that the dropout rate of students has been increasing over the past few years. According to a government report, in some states the dropout rate of students in secondary school is more than that of 30%. However, in the long run this is not feasible to the economic growth of the country, and we soon need a solution for this. However, this issue is not only in India, but is prevalent in many other countries, one such being the UK. As a solution to this issue, the UK government started a scheme in 2004, wherein teenagers beyond the age of fourteen were being paid to stay in schools. Can this also be practiced in India? Will this decrease the dropout rates? Let’s evaluate. 

One of the main reasons for students dropping out of studies is financial concerns of the family due to which they are forced to start working at a tender age instead of studying. In such cases, if we pay students to stay in school, they will be able to continue further studies and will be able to help their families financially. However, it’s human nature that we don’t value anything we get for free, and it might happen that the students are not focused towards studies. Misuse of money is also a possibility. In this case, the whole purpose of promoting education would be defeated, but the monetary flow would be high.

It is very rightly said, “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.” According to statistics, the highest dropout rate of students is in rural areas where there is lack of awareness and facilities. Paying the secondary students, in the long run, would help in upliftment of the marginalized sections of the society. However, the money to pay these students would in turn be coming from the taxpayers. The central government of India levies custom duty, central duty, income tax as well as service tax on the citizens of the country; if the tax is increased further the middle class will be the one at the suffering end, and the country’s economic growth will be hampered. 

In my opinion, students, if paid to stay in schools, might take it for granted. It has been a trend for decades that students slog and sweat and after attaining a certain age, they start earning money. However, if they are paid at such an early age, they wouldn’t have such a level of maturity and experience, and they would not be valuing the money. This might result in eradicating the traditional essence of education.