Noida and for that matter the whole of NCR are rich and full of educated households. The status of any government project implementation in the region can be a benchmark for the whole of nation. I wish it would have been true even with education.

My concern is about the basic education with minimum relevant knowledge and not only the ability to write or sign the name, for all including adults working in construction or menial assignment in factories, women and children in the integrated villages. The country or the society can’t achieve any significant progress without some knowledge-based education. And everyone understands that. Why should we expect the government to do everything in this regard? Should not we all do our best to spread education and provide knowledge to all finding the best way we can ourselves? Why has not the ‘sarv siksha aviyan’ been successful in the region?

It is great scene every day morning to see hundreds of kids lining up to enter Sai Temple in Sector 40 to get educated. They are the children of underpriviledged. There are many still loitering in every sector and the villages in Noida and don’t go to the school. Can’t the residents of Noida take some initiative to push those kids in the school system? Will it not give more satisfaction? Will it be not sin-eradicating than any of our religious or philanthropic acts? Why should we get satisfied by offering some alms to the beggars near around the temples? Why should we not think of putting them into right places where with all their inability they can be trained?

Every sector is having a temple or wishes to have one. Let us not make so many of them. We can all have a corner in our house that can be the temple.

Let us give all that we can to the cause of education of those who are deprived. Can we ask Sai Temple to let the residents know what they need to make the education that it is providing more effective and equivalent to the best that is given in a good school? Can Sai temple prepare its boys and girls to compete and get admitted in the private schools of the sector? Can the cause be supported financially or by providing extra classes or coaching by educated citizens, retired teachers voluntarily? Can the affluent residents with certain special skills start training the deprived lot in the region for that skill at their residences or some public places such as temples? There can’t be any better charity than the act of educating. Why should not Noida set an example for NCR to become 100% educated city? Let all residents’ associations and its confederation join this movement. Everything else will follow.

Noida is fortunate to have very influential celebrities. All of us see Prakash Singh and Prof Yaspal very often on small screens in our homes. I appeal to them and many like them to make Noida their workshops and laboratories to try out their ideas by making it the real knowledge city.

The region has a large number of engineering and management schools. Why should these celebrities not impress upon the government of India to have a central university for innovations established in Noida? Sam Pitroda has recommended the expansion of good libraries in Knowledge Commission Report as the basic requirement for building a knowledge society. Why should not each sector of Noida have a good well equipped library? Noida with its expansion mode need some very large library that can serve all section of the society. These libraries can become the nerve centre to provide knowledge required by organizing seminars and practical training courses.

Noida is getting the first metro of the NCR from November 12. Will it usher the beginning of many more projects that can make Noida the best place to live for the people of all ages?