Should parents support School Corporal Punishment?

The debate over school corporal punishment has been going on for many years. While some parents are opposed to any form of punishment, other support it as a tool for disciplining students. Teacher and management are also divided on the matter. By definition, school corporal punishment (SCP) is a form of punishment which is meant to deliberately cause physical pain or discomfort in response to the undesired behaviour of students in the school. I do understand why some parents support corporal punishment. The method was used on them when they were in school and they believe it has helped them and it doesn’t have any adverse long-term effect.

SCP has historically been justified by the common-law doctrine in loco parentis, whereby teachers are considered authority figures granted the same rights as parents to punish children in their care. By hitting a student, the authority programs a child to associate bad behaviour with pain. The assumption is that this method with change the behaviour of students during the school years and even after since the fear will continue to remain or the student realises what’s right from wrong in which case he no longer needs the fear to not behave the wrong way. However, in reality, SCP doesn’t really have a happy ending.

I have been a student of behavioural psychology since 2010 particularly in the field of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Transactional Analysis and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and having read many research papers on child psychology, I am convinced that there is no evidence that SCP improves the behaviour of students, improves their learning  or any other long-term benefit.  Child psychology is very complex and  there are various branches of modern psychology which have been developed  to understand the subject such as Psychoneuroimmunology, the relationship between the brain’s emotional and cognitive processes, and the body in both health and disease, and  Social information processing, which deals how individuals, especially children, establish (or fail to establish) successful relationships with society

The fact is physical punishment has an impact on cognitive development. A 1998 study by Murray A. Straus and Mallie J. Paschall, titled “Corporal Punishment by Mothers and Child’s Cognitive Development,” revealed that children who were spanked were less able to keep up with the cognitive development level expected for their age. It can even lower their IQ and can reduce a child’s brain’s grey matter, which is crucial since it influences learning abilities. According to a study titled More Harm than Good-A summary of scientific research on the intended and unintended effects of corporal punishment on children by Elizabeth t. Gershoff, the separate analyses of eleven different outcomes overwhelmingly found negative associations with corporal punishment (number of studies out of the total that found negative impacts follows each outcome in parentheses): immediate compliance (2/5), moral internalization (13/15), aggression (27/27), delinquent and antisocial behavior (12/13), quality of the parent–child relationship (13/13), child mental-health problems (12/12), physical abuse of the child (10/10), adult aggression (4/4), adult criminal and antisocial behavior (4/5), adult mental-health problems (8/8), and adult abuse of one’s own child or spouse (5/5).118 In total, 110 out of the 117 effect sizes (94%) found that corporal punishment was associated with an undesirable outcome

In the case of SCP, there is an additional social stigma associated with being beaten in front of fellow classmates. On a neurological level,   SCP triggers the flight or fight response ie the Sympathetic Nervous System. In response to acute stress, the body’s sympathetic nervous system is activated due to the sudden release of hormones. The sympathetic nervous systems stimulate the adrenal glands triggering the release of catecholamines, which include adrenaline and noradrenaline This results in an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate and may also cause flushed skin, dilated pupils and trembling. On a psychological level, this may cause phobias, aggression, depression and anxiety attacks in the long term. When a child is exposed to repeated SCP it can lead to chronic stress which has a two-fold effect. The first being increased Th2 activity associated with inflammation and increased risk for allergic and autoimmune response, and the second being a reduction in Th1  and leukocyte activity along with enhanced immunosuppressive mechanisms which promote cancer and infection risk while also decreasing the efficacy of vaccines and wound healing. In other words, there is ample scientific evidence that corporal punishment does more harm to a child than good.

Some of the comments made my parents who support SCP  are, “parents must not overprotect their kids”, “boys must learn to man-up and not be sissy”,” how is it possible to discipline children without punishment”,” I have no problem with teachers punishing my kids” etc. Any act of hitting a child in school is a crime just like any form of molestation is a crime. The intent of the act, the “reputation” of the parents, the past behaviour of the child are irrelevant. There are no grey areas and as a society, we in Goa have to accept it, just like every other State in the 128 nations which have outlawed SCP. With regards to children becoming sissies, people have to recognise a correlation between the traditional philosophy of pushing boys to “man up” and “boys don’t cry” with the rise in various forms of aggression such as violence against women, mob violence etc.

At the same time, parents must not overprotect and pamper their children. Children need to feel pain like being hit while playing with classmates or injuring themselves while falling off a cycle. Fear of consequence, which is the foundation of teaching discipline, must be instilled in the first three years of the child’s life. Unfortunate parents overprotect their children during these years. We’ve all seen parents who beat the table when their baby bumps into it and cries.  A couple of years later, we use fear to get them to do what we want. Goan parents use “Budaman”, policeman and even animals to scare their toddlers. As they grow, the children are given unrestricted access to TV and Mobile phones. Studies have shown that by the time an average kid reaches the age of 14, he has seen more than 10,000 simulated murders, suicides and gruesome violence. Not only do they get desensitised to any form of violence, the TV teaches the child that it’s cool to rebel and fight back and if that doesn’t work, run away or even commit suicide. Parents often say that they can’t control their kids. If they beat them then the child fights back. That’s because the kid is having his reality, beliefs and actions shaped by two other parents ie the TV and the mobile phone.

In school, teachers who use SCP may not always to it in the interest of the student.They may have stress in their personal or professional life which might manifest as excessive aggression towards the child. From the child’s perspective, their reality is shattered and they may realise that they are no longer protected. The more they are punished, they either get resentful and aggressive, or they become regressive, isolated and suffer from low self-esteem, depression etc.

Parents and teachers who claim SCP has benefits have only anecdotal evidence to prove their claim. To me, instead of debating the pros and cons of SCP, we have to provide children with values and wisdom so that the child understands the long-term impact on his behaviour on his future. The Society for Adolescent Medicine recommends developing “a milieu of effective communication, in which the teacher displays an attitude of respect for the students”, as well as instruction that is stimulating and appropriate to student’s abilities, various nonviolent behaviour modification techniques, and involving students and parents in making decisions about school matters such as rules and educational goals. They suggest that student self-governance can be an effective alternative for managing disruptive classroom behaviour, while stressing the importance of adequate training and support for teachers.

Raising children in today’s world is a huge, greater than ever before. Parents have to read books on effective parenting and learn the methods best suited for their child. Schools to have to rise out of the Victorian mindset, recognise that all kids are not the same and promote healthily learning. Teachers need to be more patient, tolerant and innovate to make the class more interesting, even for students who have a low attention span. And most importantly, we have to raise our children to carry their own cross no matter how heavy it is not because of the fear that someone is going to punish them. We must do it because it will make them stronger, better and more companionate human beings.

Reforming Goa’s Higher Education

Recently, the Directorate of Higher Education sought views and inputs from the public on different aspects of Higher education. It was quite refreshing to know that the Directorate is keen to involve the public. Obviously, there is no single decision, scheme or process that can improve the quality of education. It requires a comprehensive policy with a strong political and administrative will. I have been researching this issue for the last 4 years based on which I have suggested 10 ways to improve the quality of higher education and make Goans employable

1. Improve the Standard of Education and Employability: 

Educational institutions have to provide the highest quality of education which can be compared with international standards. Every subject/course has to be reviewed and if required updated every two years. The entire course has to be changed every 6-10 years to meet the needs of employers.

Education has to be made industry relevant and practical. Today, students are forced to sit in classrooms, listen passively to unskilled lecturers and then are forced to regurgitate the information at the end of the semester. This is a failed model which needs to be replaced with a system that encourages analytical thinking, creative expression of ideas and practical hands-on experience in order to create qualified graduates who acceptable in job markets.

2. Implement RUSA Scheme

In Goa, only Rs 13 Crores out of the proposed 36 Crores has been released by the centre under this fund which is meant for improving the infrastructure of 24 Goan Colleges and the Goa University. Since the inception of this scheme in 2012, funds have been released only 2013-14 (Rs 1.2 Cr) and 2015-16 (Rs. 11.4 Cr). In 2014-15 and 16-17, no funds have been released. According to information of RUSA website, the  issues related to implementation in Goa are that the fund utilisation certificates of the 18 colleges that received part funds had not been submitted, the state has Geotagged photographs of only 3 RUSA Funded Institutions, the State has yet to constitute its State Higher Education Council through an Act, among others.

 The BJP Government was never serious about this scheme. In 2015, I had to file a complaint with the Directorate of Vigilance against the then Director of Higher Education Bhaskar Nayak for keeping the files pending for nearly two years. A few months later,  11.4 Crores was released. If the DHE is serious about improving the quality of our institutes, it has to implement this scheme on a war footing and ensure that all the issue pointed out by the RUSA council are addressed so that each of the 24 colleges receives the 1.2 Crore fund from the centre.

3. Reforms in student financing: 

Goa Scholars Scheme, a no strings attached scholarship fund, must be scrapped. Funds under this scheme are allotted arbitrarily. There are allegations of favouritism and corruption. DHE does not follow the reservation muster roll which is mandatory as per the scheme rules. Therefore ST/SC/OBC are denied this scheme. The scheme also promotes brain drain. Most of the beneficiaries have left Goa for good. Around 3 Crores are spend on 20+ students who have no obligation to work in Goa or India.

Instead, schemes must be introduced to subsidise education for meritorious students who study in Goan institutes, independent of financial background. For example, 50% subsidy on college fees can be given to all students who score first class in the previous semester.  There should be scholarships for meritorious students from financially weaker sections to continue their education till post graduation.

4. Use technology for education delivery: 

The issue with the current model of education is that the strength of the classroom is too big for effective content delivery. The number of students enrolling in Colleges is rising because of which lecturers are appointed at a higher rate than ever. These new lecturers do not possess the teaching skills and lack the depth in the subject to effectively impart knowledge and education.  We need to implement a model which is less dependent on these lecturers for delivering content within the current classroom setup.

ICT and Smart Classrooms are one solution but they are normally associated with high cost and poor implementation. The simple and cost-effective way of using technology for education delivery is using video content which can be accessed by students on their PC or mobile device. Lecturers can ask students to watch these videos before class as an introductory session or after class as a tool for further learning and revision. Students can view these videos as per their own pace of learning.

5. Enabling a research environment:

DHE must encourage colleges to conduct research which has practical application. This would also encourage teachers to take research projects of various funding agencies like UGC, CSIR, ISRO, DST etc. Further, DHE must set up the framework to encourage private enterprises to invest in research in technology, local markets, microeconomics, etc

6. High-quality faculty: 

New lecturers have to go through a semester of mentorship training under an experienced lecturer before being thrown into a classroom. Also, there is a dire need to provide requisite funds to the teachers for attending seminars, conferences, workshops and other events at regional, national and international levels. Every course has to have a committee with a panel of experts who create content to update lecturers with latest developments taking place in their respective subjects.

Interview process of lecturers needs to be reformed in order to eliminate favouritism and corruption in the selection process. The interview process has to include real-world demonstration in a classroom of students. Updated information of how many posts are filled and available under various categories (reservation) must be published online.

There is a need to implement performance assessment mechanism based on peer review, student feedback and student performance for evaluation of lecturers. A lecturer must be evaluated not only for his teaching but also for his research and extension activities.

7. Reorientation and Consolidation

The orientation of students towards professional subjects needs to be done at an earlier stage so as to provide greater avenues and foster their inherent capabilities in one particular stream rather than making them study all kinds of subjects irrespective of their personal interests and inclinations.

8. Choice Based Credit System (CBCS)

In concert with plans to broaden access to tertiary study opportunities, the 12th Five-Year Plan also discusses the need for a deepening of academic reforms, with institutions being asked to shift their instructional emphasis from an “input-centric and credential-focused” approach to a more “learner-centric” approach. This is to be achieved through: regular revisions to curricula, the implementation of a choice-based credit system, the introduction of continuous and comprehensive student evaluations, a cumulative grade point system, and new marking and grading schemes.

It is also hoped that the new semester and credit system will encourage more frequent revisions to curriculum and more relevance to the labour market, with the RUSA policy document outlining a process of curriculum stocktaking and revision every three years.

9. Promoting Twinning programs with other colleges in India and Abroad

The twinning programme between colleges across borders broadens the scope of the educational programme by providing opportunity and access for candidates aspiring to pursue higher studies through distance mode blended with the characteristics of the regular programme. It endeavours to strengthen and enhance the quality of higher education offered through distance mode while giving students cross-cultural exposure.

10. Ombudsman in Higher Education

Within the rising fees of private colleges, there is a need for an independent Ombudsman to address grievances of poor educational services, harassment of students by staff and any other grievances. This will bring accountability and transparency to the way private colleges function.

11. DHE Website has to be updated as it looks like something straight out of the 90’s

All information on the website has to be up to date. The website needs to have a responsive layout so that it can be viewed on handheld devices.All the services of the DHE must be available online. DHE needs to implement digital lockers for issuing and accepting certificates.

There are just a few of the reforms that are needed in the DHE. I urge parents, employers, politicians and the general public to get involved and contribute their suggestions to this initiative by the DHE in order to create responsible and employable Goans.

Why must we protect our public Spaces – Goa Perspective

Published on Herald Review on 10/12/17

Public Spaces in Goan towns are shrinking. These spaces, which are commonly referred to as open spaces, are the target of illegal encroachments, government projects, garbage disposal etc. When we go to towns and cities aboard, we marvel at the beauty of their public spaces. Whether it is the Safa Park or the Mamzar Beach Park in Dubai, Gardens by the Bay in Singapore or even Mumbai’s hanging garden, famous public spaces don’t happen by accident. They need political will, an incredible amount of dedication and attention to detail. Panjim too has some beautiful public spaces thanks to the foresight of its city planners decades ago. Ask any visitor and they will describe such public spaces as beautiful, unique and special. But what is it about these places that make it so special? It Is the comfort,  greenery, freshness and peace which draws more and more people, children and senior citizens while sit on those comfortable benches or simply lie down on the lawn surrounded by trees, flowers plants, birds and even fountains.

As existing towns in Goa expand and new urban centers pop up, why aren’t there more places with greenery where we can sit in the middle of the town and not feel alone or like a trespasser? Its because towns in Goa are not being designed that way. Recently constructed public spaces like Patto Plaza, the SGPDA Ground-Margao  or  the Taligao Community Hall ground, Kranti Maidan-Ponda  etc have geometric layouts and structures with dull grey color schemes associated with heavily concretised modern architecture. There is hardly any place to sit comfortably. It’s no surprise that people avoid such places. Our Government prefers such architecture because the high construction cost yields high kickbacks. Also, there is nothing to water and nothing much to maintain except for the occasional coat of paint or asphalt every 3-4 years. But the fact is, they look cold, deserted and depressing. The few new parks that have been developed such as the Chicalim Park, near the Navy school, are located in posh sub-urban areas, far away from the homes of ordinary citizens. Developers of gated residential complexes have created “Private Public Spaces” exclusively for their residents which create pockets of lonely and isolated communities.

Goa needs more public spaces everywhere. Emphasis needs to be given not just on the location but also the design of public space. This in turn depends on how your body feels in that space. Local communities have a major role to play in designing public spaces that suites the unique style, culture and character of the village. One example of popular public spaces are along waterfronts. Besides Mandovi river waterfront and a few  lakes, our waterfronts are largely ignored. Goa Government can use the river CRZ zone to create a green public space where Goans and tourist alike can walk and enjoy  whether by themselves or with their families and friends. Another example of untapped public spaces is the open space in Industrial Estates. These spaces could have been used to create oasis amidst the industrial structures where staff can take a break, socialise, relax, explore opportunities and even come up with the next big project.

Public Spaces have power. It’s not just the number of people using them, it’s about the greater number of people who feel better about their town knowing that they are there. Public space can change how we live in and feel about our towns. It’s what makes the city the extension of the tiny apartment that we could barely afford. Public spaces strengthen the bonds between cultural groups. They give to its residents and visitors an opportunity to have a great time every day. Therefore, no matter how popular or successful a public space may be, it can never be taken for granted. Commercial interest will always battle against public space. Public spaces always need vigilant champions, not only to claim them for the public, but to design them for the people that use them, then to maintain them to make sure that they are for everyone, that they are not violated, invaded, abandoned or ignored, and that they remain as symbols of a united happy society for years to come.

Image Source : businessinsider.com

Why do we need to design Walkable Towns – Goa Perspective

Published on Herald Review (24/12/17)

Cars and Motorbikes have become our prosthetic devices. Making Goa ‘ walkable’ implies making the car an optional instrument of freedom rather than a prosthetic device. In order to make people leave their cars and walk, there needs to be a proper reason to walk: the walk has to be safe, feel safe, comfortable and the walk has to be interesting.
You’ll see far more people walking in central parts of Margao, Panjim and Vasco than in modern developments areas like Gogol, Taleigao, or Chicalim. It is not about just physically being able to walk somewhere but also about all the things that influence ones choice to take care of daily activities on foot.

400m is the distance an average person can walk in five minutes. If it becomes longer, people choose motor vehicles. Separated land uses, dead-end streets, large city blocks ( or gated complexes), poorly designed or arranged developments also discourage walking since such places are undesirable or unsafe to walk or more than 5 minutes away.
The entire highway in Goa has no footpath, even though hundreds of people walk along these roads with vehicles zipping by inches away at 70 kms per hour. Pedestrians account for nearly one- fourth of all road deaths in Goa. When I questioned the PWD, TCP and GSIDC departments under RTI, they all stated that there is no policy or law making footpaths compulsorily. In other words, we are building 99% of our transportation infrastructure for less than half the population who own vehicles.
Constructing footpaths and sidewalks require a fundamental change in mindset. We have to sacrifice or reduce the width of existing roads to accommodate sidewalks.
Every city, town or village is made up of a group of building or houses surrounded by roads, which forms on “ Block”. Walkable cities have block sizes of around 60- 100 meters, similar to central Vasco, Panjim and Margao city. When you have such cities, you can have a well- connected two- lane- road city. When the block size is increased to 300 meters, cities are less walkable and need four and six lane roads. A study done in 20 Cities in California show that when block sizes are doubled, the number of accident on non highway roads increase four times.
In order to make places more walkable, residential and commercial land used must be mixed so that stores, healthcare, schools, markets and offices are walking distance away, both from homes and transit systems. Blocks should not be too large with adequate short cuts between them. Public spaces including markets must be people oriented and not vehicle oriented. Neighbourhoods must be pleasant to walk through with buildings, streets and landscaping which focus on peoples experiences.
Placing buildings close to the streets, avoiding dead walls and including trees along sidewalks are universally effective ways to make streets more pedestrian friendly.
Public Transport is one of the most import aspects of walkable cities. Villages and towns that don’t provide access to public transport force its residents to use cars. This trend, in turn, shapes the towns and villages around cars since they now need to accommodate more and more vehicles, which in turn forces people to give up parts of their land for road expansion.
The cost of roads maintenance will be far lower if Goa is made walkable. Thus Government will save money for itself and for its residents. The money saved can be used to build a translucent roof over footpaths to protect pedestrians against the harsh Goan sun. It also makes the cities clean, fresh and “ cool” where more people want to be these days. There are several health incentives for making Goa a walkable State, especially in Urban areas. The obesity rates in Goa are staggering, especially among children. Heart and cardiovascular diseases are at an all-time high and the average age of people living with these diseases is decreasing every year.
These are all a result of our urban design. Of course, diet impacts health but inactivity born out of our landscape, where there are no longer such things as footpaths, is driving our weight up. Studies done in the USA showed that if you lived in a walkable neighbourhood, you were 35% likely to be overweight and if you lived in a less walkable neighbourhood you were 65 per cent likely to be overweight. The latter is termed as “ obesogenic” neighbourhoods. In other words, our health is impacted significantly by environmental induced inactivity.
Diseases and deaths due to Lung related diseases and motor vehicle crashes are also reasons why we need to change the way we design our infrastructure. If the city is designed around cars, this makes it easy for those cars to smash into each other.
Making Goa walkable has to be an initiative not just of the State Government but of every individual village, town and city. Gram shabhas have to make this conscious choice and pass resolutions demanding Walkable streets. Town planners & elected representatives have to change their mindset and this must be reflected in Goa’s Regional Plan. Only then we can make Goa a truly Walkable State.

Photo Credit : gpsmycity.com

Urbanisation Model of a lost Paradise- Goa

—Published on Oheraldo Mirror (7/1/18)—

Before the advent of motor vehicles, Goan villages and towns grew based on the 5 km per hour infrastructure. That’s the speed with which people would access religious places, market areas etc. A 15 minute journey was comfortable and that’s why most village centres in Goa are 30mins to 45 mins apart. Today Goas infrastructure is designed based on 60km per hour and even 100 km per hour architecture. If you don’t have access to a vehicle, you won’t be able to keep pace with Goa’s development. Our towns are places designed for vehicles, not for humans. Ironically, humans have to pay a heavy price to reside and move around whereas the vehicle can reside and move anywhere for free. Goa’s Model of Urbanisation is a failure; but before we can fix things, we need to take a closer look at what’s wrong with the model.

Planning and Development Authorities are the Planners of Urban Goa. PDAs were envisaged in order to rapidly develop and urbanise an area which may be a subset of a city or village, or a single area covering parts of multiple villages. This concept was modelled on larger States of the 70s which had large urban centres with rapid

 

population growth.

Unfortunately, in Goa, PDAs have become an incompetent bureaucratic plague which has infected our ancestral towns and are now spreading their tentacles of illegal highrise construction, traffic congestion, sewage problems etc into neighbouring villages. They infringe on the powers of local bodies. “Planning” has been restricted to “arbitrary” change in land use for a hefty bribe.“Development” is limited to issue of pre and post construction approvals. Then there are PDAs like Margao which run fish markets. The PDAs are filled with draftsmen and civil engineers who have no competency in town planning. None of the PDAs in Goa have qualified Town Planners. No wonder after 44 years of the TCP Act, all the towns are in a mess. Can we accept and tolerate this model for the next 50 years?

Some claim Smart Cities are the solution to Goa’s problem. The Government thinks of making Panjim City “smart”, most of its problems will be solved. Smart Cities are expensive cities to live in. Residents pay a huge premium for maintaining this expensive infrastructure. Rs 6200 Crores has been allotted for Panjim. That equivalent to 34 Mopa Airports, or 10 NIT Colleges, or 15 Mandovi Bridges and certainly more than 100 Panjim Market Complexes. If the Government builds infrastructure worth 6200Crs for panjim and we consider 2% as maintenance cost and the population of Panjim as 50,000, every resident of Panjim would be liable to pay annually Rs 24,800 just for maintaining all these projects. In reality, taxes and fees will go up, new fees and taxes will be levied and Panjim will become a very expensive city, both for its residents and visitors. The premise of Panjim Smart City initiative, that technology and infrastructure alone (without a comprehensive development plan) can make Panjim better, is unfounded, even if it is worth Rs 62,00,00,00,000.

We need to change the mindsets and the way we think of cities, right from planners to councillors to students. We need to learn from cities like Copenhagen which are similar to our towns. In the last 50 years, this city has been continuously improving. During that time, 18 public squares which were parking lots have been made into public squares only for people. They have permanently converted many internal roads to walking and cycling only streets. Copenhagen government surveys and documents life in the city. They realised that they need less motor infrastructure and more people infrastructure to improve quality of life of the citizens and therefore improve the city itself. That is how they have a measuring standard employed for improvement by the city planners and politicians. That’s why is how the politicians could boldly convert busy 4 and 6 lane roads into 2 lane streets with the rest of the space for 2 sidewalks, 2 exclusive bicycle lanes, and a substantial median, all to facilitate walking, cycling, crossing the street and sitting in a safe, civilised and beautiful environment. Copenhegan’s vision is to be the best city in the world. Panjim City wants to be a world class city. Which city do you think will succeed in making its vision a reality? And in the mean time, what will happen to other towns in Goa?

In order to create an effective urban development model, we need urgent government reforms to implement better procedures and frameworks. We also need ideas and solutions. This won’t come from overpriced consultants or councillors who go on state-sponsored tours or real estate lobbies. The best solutions to make our towns World Class can come only from its local citizens. We also need expert, open-minded and qualified town planners to prepare and implement these solutions. In the mean time, it is important that we demand that the government create a Comprehensive Development Plan for each PDA town before formulating the land use plan (ODP). Like the citizens of Copenhagan, let’s take our cities and towns back from vehicles and develop it for humans.

Photo Credit : Joao Souza 

I Filed An RTI And Discovered Why Premium Petrol Is India’s Biggest Loot

Published on Youth Ki Awaaz

Premium petrol has been sold in India for more than a decade. All the government-owned oil companies like Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum and Indian Oil have their own brand of premium petrol. It was launched with much hype with claims such as increasing engine performance, cleaning the engine and preventing the build-up of carbon deposits in the engine and intake system. The price of premium petrol is around ₹3 more than the price of ordinary petrol.

Like many Indians, I ride a humble scooter which gives a decent mileage. I don’t use premium petrol except whenever the petrol pump runs out of ordinary petrol. I have been suspecting that petrol station operators and maybe even oil companies create an artificial shortage of ordinary petrol in order to force consumers to buy premium petrol, either to sell idle stock or to earn more from the higher priced premium petrol. After the last time I was forced to buy premium petrol, I decided to investigate the claims made by these companies.

Premium petrol, also called high octane gasoline, refers to petrol which has additives. 87-octane gasoline, for example, is comprised of an 87% blend of iso-octane and 13% n-heptane, or a blend that is equivalent. Bharat Petroleum, the company which I investigated, has a brand we are all familiar with called Speed. Their website does not give any description of the contents but other sites claim they have ‘Speed’, ‘Speed 97’.

I filed an RTI with Bharat Petroleum. I asked them for documents to substantiate their claims which include, “Speed Fuel is enriched with special multi-functional additives (MFA) that keep your vehicle’s engine clean thereby maximizing its power and improving fuel economy. Speed also lowers vehicular emissions, ensuring reliable engine performance and a smoother drive.” Their response was, “The details of MFA or test reports substantiating the performance claims cannot be provided as it contains the information in trade secrets.”

I also asked for the details of power requirements, and pollution or effluents ie gas, liquid etc, that are generated during the manufacturing of Speed Fuel and the ‘per litre’ expenditure on manufacturing speed fuel. Their reply was, “Speed is not manufactured at the refinery; it is developed by blending special multifunctional additives with normal gasoline. Hence the power requirements, etc. are the same as that of normal gasoline.”

They refused to reveal the information regarding the manufacturing expenditure claiming it is a trade secret. They did reveal that the price of Speed for the last three years. On 1/1/16, BP sold a litre of petrol in Delhi for ₹59.5 and a litre of Speed for ₹62.53. On 31.12.17, these prices jumped to ₹70.03 and ₹73.24, respectively. There is a constant difference of around ₹3.20 between ordinary petrol and Speed.

It is shocking to know that the additives are added at the fuel supply stations. Who is responsible for quality control? How can a consumer verify if the right amount of additives are added? This, to me, opens up scope for adulteration.  The fact that the actual chemicals added are hidden behind the veil of secrecy while the company makes unbelievable claims of its benefits should be sufficient for consumers to boycott Speed along with other premium fuels.

The real question is whether high octane fuel like Speed actually benefits the consumers. A comprehensive fuel evaluation study was done by the American Association of Automobiles (I & II) to determine the benefits of high octane fuel to consumers. After using industry-standard test protocols designed to evaluate vehicle performance, fuel economy, and emissions, AAA found no benefit to using premium gasoline in a vehicle that only requires regular-grade fuel.

AAA cautions drivers that premium gasoline is higher octane, not higher quality, and urged drivers to follow the owner’s manual recommendations for their vehicle’s fuel. Premium gasoline is specifically formulated to be compatible with specific types of engine designs and most vehicles cannot take advantage of the higher octane rating. The study found that US drivers waste $2.1 billion annually on premium gasoline.

As consumers, when purchasing petrol or diesel, our focus should be on high ‘quality’ and not ‘premium’. Most of the vehicles sold in India do not specifically require high octane fuel. I have no doubt that oil companies are conning us with these premium fuels which have a negligible benefit on our vehicles. Why else would they shy away from revealing any study which would substantiate their claims? These fuels were probably introduced during the time fuel prices were heavily regulated and oil companies needed another source of revenue to reduce ‘under-recoveries’.

Now that prices have been deregulated and oil companies are free to vary the price of petrol, they should stop selling these premium fuels. By not doing so, I am sure they have collected crores of rupees from consumers without offering any real benefit. The time has come for people to boycott these premium fuels till companies are forced to stop their sale and they are replaced with cleaner and better quality fuel.

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