Good schools prefer housewives
by neo
If you thought the Bush administration lived in an insulated bubble, wait till you meet some of the school “principals” in India. An artificial scarcity of 
convenient schools has hyper-inflated the egos of people with personalities that remind Neo of Milton from Office Space.
One example is – “National Public School” (NPS) in Bangalore. The admission process is so opaque it makes the INS seem transparent. Here’s the process:
- Wait in line at a secretive “form distribution date” which is not advertised on their website.
- Submit a one-page form that doesn’t ask you for any information that is actually relevant to the admission process.
- Wait to see if they call you (sorry, no emails!).
The criteria for selection are not disclosed and is the stuff of urban legends. One lady, “Mrs. R.”, who has gamed the NPS admission process told Neo with great confidence (and condescension) – “Dr. Gopalakrishna (NPS chairman) doesn’t like kids with working moms”. Neo spent two nights on the couch for suggesting that Mrs. Neo become a housewife.
Mrs. R said she waited outside the office of Dr. K. P. Gopalakrishna, for several hours a day, for several months before she was given an opportunity to speak to him (and thus get admission).
So Neo has decided to screw that. There are a lot of other schools – such as “Inventure Academy” and “Greenwood High” in Bangalore that have the same crappy teachers, but are desperate enough for tuition money to make them (gasp!) customer-focused.
And Neo’s kids are going to do their SATs, get financial aid and do their undergrad in the US anyway. So Milton can kiss Neo’s non-existent posterior.
[...] Return to India myth #19: School education is generally better in India (than the US)Weekend Vedic warriors defend the caste systemMangalore Pub BlorgasmWhy Chyetanya Kunte needs to apologizeHow to get your sentiments hurt without watching SlumdogGood schools prefer housewives [...]
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good schools in the US also prefer housewives or house dads who have the time to volunteer in public schools and thereby supplement the teacher who is so overwhelmed with disciplinary problems that she cannot teach the material.. all the good public school districts in the midwestern town we live in have one thing in common– more single high earner families with one spouse- mothers or fathers who stay home and spend all their time volunteering in their kids schools to teach them stuff the teachers have no time for..
plus stay at home parents also chauffer their kids to Kumon or other after school learning activities – “tuition”.. In our town the Kumon center when it opened saw a 300 percent increase in enrollment in the first two years alone and guess what — this school district has one of the highest math scores in the state!
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Neo:
This is alas all too common. And not just in India. In Switzerland, children go home at lunch time to eat lunch, presumably cooked by their Susheela mothers, and then return home. In the UK, one of my favourite pastimes on rainy days (those when I do not feel like working) is to count the 4WDs screeching past my home-office with 3-4 kids in the back and an alpha mom at the (steering) wheel. Presumably if these ladies can do the taxi duties at 3pm, they aren’t going to office jobs.
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Err.. my son studies in one of KPG’s schools – the interview was with me and lasted for 2 mins.. the decision was already made – they like educated housewives (well a graduate from a decent univ) and a dad who slogs his butt off and earns shitloads of moolah to pay for the fees and other thinggies.. But my brat loves the school and well, for a distracted coot that he is, the teacher has actually made him focus a bit – he does focus at home, but then the missus makes him do stuff..
Schools in India i like typically have a student: teacher ratio of 13-15:1 in KG and 25-30:1 from 1st std onwards- this i believe is optimum.. in this KPG school – NAFL – the ratio is 13:1 in KG and 26:1 from 1st std onwards.. there are schools which do 80:1 in 1st std onwards and 40:1 at KG – dont like them particularly..
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The “commenters” above are absolutely right, it is the same case almost everywhere and it a tad unfair to criticize just the schools in India, don’t you think?
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@Joanne
Interesting update: We filled out another school application, and lied about my wife’s status (i.e. we put “homemaker” as a profession). We still got rejected. I’m beginning to think it’s a conspiracy. Either that, or the 6 page cover letter is a bit much. :-)
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Urban Legend (for a Bangalore school) that I have heard:
A “working-outside-of-home” mother listed herself as “housewife” for the purpose of her child’s school admission, said child got the coveted admission, school got wind of mom’s “working” status, and troubled her for a few months by asking her to come to school at all odd hours in the morning and afternoon for “meetings” (presumably to force her to spill the beans. :)
Don’t know about the veracity of this, but I can imagine the amount of homework and number of school projects that need to get done that such ULs are spawned!
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Joanne
I can think of a parallel situation here in London. When Indians passport holders apply for a visa to travel to European countries, situations can arise where the husband with a job does not get a visa with random excuses offered but the wife who lists “housewife” as her occupation gets one instantly. Misogyny is a universal trait. Presumably having a job (or saying you have a job) is proof of employability and therefore you are at risk of getting a job and staying back in Greece or France (ha ha ha! But that is another discussion). If you don’t have a job, you are safe for you will come back to serve at the feet of your provider/ husband.
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Yep, racism and sexism know no boundaries!
So, all in all Neo, perhaps you and Mrs Neo are better off with the school rejection, eh? :)
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Excellant post. And yet, schools like this continue to flourish and earn badges as being ‘good schools’. I’ve heard that Padma Shesadhri in Chennai – one of the elite schools – requires that you register for admission when you’re pregnant. Thats how long the waiting list is. And in the admission form, you are required to declare your caste. Imagine that! You can guess what the caste profile of this school would look like. Why are there no protests against this type of reservation?
My sister – hard core career woman – was telling me about the proceedings of a PTA meeting at her daughter’s school. One of the mothers present wanted a change in school timings so that the child could come home and have a ‘hot lunch’. Naturally my sister hit the roof. She’s not home during lunch time. Good think the ‘hot mother’ was out voted!! :)
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[...] Good schools prefer housewives [...]
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It’s not at all a shocking note. Education is at par with business now. Days are gone when we considered education as one of the most philanthropic jobs.
I have an interesting fact to tell here. Here, in Ahmedabad in India, when children are given assignments from schools, there are readymade solutions for these assignments available at market for a price! What would be the outcome of our future generation at this rate! Even after Schools charge exorbitant donations/fees, parents still send their wards to high profile tutorials/coaching class paying thousands and lakhs. Parents rush to send their angelic children to tuition classes barely when the tiny tots are 5 years old to secure their future.
Let alone getting a job, getting an admission in a school / college is a dream come true now.
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Hi,
We are planning to go back to India this year and most probably, live and work in Bangalore. I have two boys born and brought up in the US. I was wondering if you had any idea on good schools(that are not too expensive either) that would be an easy transition for my kids(my older one is not too enthusiastic about India and both my kids are not ready for the academic rigor). Thank you.
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