"Being educated and being literate are two different things" - Ranjit Patel, a young student and eSports Commentator exhales.....

Changes, resilience and reforms cannot materialise without young minds. It is my vivid observation as a teacher, that young people, a students or not, have a definite views. Every generation has its own ideas and own original views and a perspective on the problem…..and often, they are right.

Ranjit Patel, is a student of computer engineering in Surat. He is like any other young person….full of youth and enthusiasm. What makes him different and special is, his choice! Apart from being a student, he also is eSports Commentator (Shoutcaster) and a Host. In simple terms, he is a commentator and anchor, for gaming competitions for computer games – not an ordinary carrier. And different thought, lead to different solutions. Pasting his views, as they were sent, here....

"Surat is one of the finest cities in this country and one of the best cities to live in. But a lot of things could've been way better if people were a bit more considerate and the planners put in a bit more thought into some of the projects that have been developed in the city."

"First of all, BRTS is a really good concept, but the problem with it in a city like Surat is the fact that surat hasn't really been "Planned" and the BRTS project in that sense hasn't really been planned at all. Now, obviously all the feasibility tests have been conducted for the project, but planning in the sense that if it should be carried out in a certain region or not has surely been poorly done."

"If you go beyond Minibazar towards Katargam, there are hardly roads with two lanes, and the fact that more than one lane has been occupied for BRTS services just doesn't make sense to me. The only route which has been properly planned for BRTS in my opinion is the Udhna Magdalla road and the canal road which goes towards Sarthana because it's probably the only road which was developed keeping BRTS services in mind."

“And the Reason why I'm heavily critisizing the planners/designers is because if you go to Gaurav Path, it is still wide enough even after the introduction of BRTS, but the problem is, the overhead bridge. It just goes on to show how much "Planning" (I'm being sarcastic with this one) has been put into it and how much Municipal Corporation and SUDA Lacks coordination.
The foot over bridge was built before the work for BRTS was started, but that doesn't mean they weren't aware about the plan for BRTS (unless I’m completely wrong. Which I really hope I am). Because of the foot over bridge, the foot path on the left couldn't be widened at the point where the bridge has it's support and the base, which in simple words creates a bottle neck."

"So you have the whole Gaurav Path from Kargil Chowk to Lal Bhai stadium with two lanes, but at the point where the foot over bridge has it's base, there's only one lane due to the bottle neck, which literally throws all the "Planning" out of the window."

“Then comes my second point, civic sense. I currently live in Surat’s one of the finest areas, i.e Vesu. But even though it is one of the finest areas in terms of facilities and amenities, the mentality of people still remains the biggest hurdle. I live in a society with 13 Buildings and a huge campus, but the fact that people still throw garbage out of their window most of the times still infuriates me. Because it's not just the garbage at times, I've literally seen milk coming down from a window, because I've been the "Victim" of it (Yes, Milk was quite literally showered on me while I was on my way to attend my classes)."

"This is one thing that will not change immediately, it will take one or maybe two whole generations to change, but this change will only be possible if the educational institutes start from the grass root level. Putting education first rather than literacy."

“And this brings me to my third and the last point."

"Being educated and being literate are two different things that a lot of people don't realise."

"And let's just say that 95% of the population which has been to school is just literate and not educated. The reason why I'm saying this is because, I've seen this, and I've been through this. I picked up a non-conventional approach to my career which a lot of people might not understand at first and that is totally understandable. The problem starts when you try and explain it to them but they still do not want to change their views about it."

"I'm not going to use the big words that "the system needs to change and blah blah", but rather it is on the institutes to take necessary steps to cultivate the talent and the passion that the children possess."

"So I'll conclude by saying that reforms are necessary and that too major ones. It will take time, but the changes will have to start now. Because let's just face it, schools and colleges put in a lot of emphasis on marks/placement (more than necessary) and fail to realise that there is a lot more to the students than only these two things."

"My appeal to the institutes would be: Let's start off by making better humans first rather than making better students."



"If we succeed in doing this, the solutions to the problems will come automatically."



Thank you, Mr Ranjit. We look forward for more interaction....,




Himanshu (Arjun) Padhya