Bhutan  has just made teachers and medical staff the highest paid civil servants in the country. Let us not forget that Bhutan is the country where  Gross National Happiness is more important than the GDP! Education and health are now the highest priorities in the tiny country. This means that Bhutan puts its children and people first.

On the other side of the planet a young Prime Minister has also turned things on their head. Jacinda Ardern presented a budget “where spending is dictated by what best encourages the “well-being” of citizens, rather than focussing on traditional bottom-line measures like productivity and economic growth.” The young New Zealand Prime Minister also puts people first!

I wish we did the same in India!

In the last week over 170 young children have died of encephalitis  in Muzaffarpur Bihar due to poor medical facilities and most of all due to malnutrition and poor care. According to data this was mostly due to the indifference of the state government towards nutrition and healthcare in spite of many schemes in place. Let us not  forget that 5000 children under five still die of malnutrition in India EVERY DAY. A statistic I have often quoted as it makes my blood run cold. And in Muzzffarnagar  every second child under the age of 5 in stunted. Had a simple programme like ICDS launched in 1975 worked then no one under age of 44 should have been malnourished in India. Where are our priorities!

The same is the case with education. In spite of a Constitutional Right to Education the education system across the land leaves a lot to be desired. Again it is not a priority. There are schools with no teachers or with one teacher! There are schools without desks or books. There are schools were more than 100 kids are cramped in a single classroom. There are over 15 million of children out of school. There are over 33 million children engaged in child labour. There are children begging at every red light. Something is not right. We as a nation have lost the ability to see with our hearts.

It is time we prioritised education and health care. For those who cannot afford a private hospital, the only option are the state run facilities. If these do not work then a large chunk of the population is again left out and forced to go to quacks or even faith healers. The other option is a private hospital but that entails high debts.

Making teachers and health staff the highest paid civil servant would ensure that the best opt for such jobs and hence the quality of education and public health would improve in quantum leaps. Government spending as Jacinda Ardern says should be on ensuring the well being of every citizen particularly the poorest or most marginalised. This is the way governments should go as this is what would bring the much needed change we all aspire for.

Children are the most precious asset of any country and we must ensure that each and every one of them get the best.