To the rich, to the mighty, to the high profile politicians and to the white collared officers and the other money bags who cannot be clubbed under any category, the pathetic condition of education here may not mean much for they always have the luxury of packing off their ward and children to one of the schools located outside the State. But to the teeming thousands of people who just do not have the means to send their children outside the State to pursue their studies, the situation is indeed bleak.
Just take a look at the last few years and the picture will become clear. Not a single year passes by without the teachers or students launching some strike or the other demanding pursuit of the students. Academic calendar exists only on paper to be consigned to the dust bin and syllabus, which are fortunate enough to have parents who can afford, are increasingly relying on private tuitions to help them cover the syllabus for the academic session. Add to this tribe of teachers to whom duty means coming to school and colleges and leaving after signing in the attendance register and we have the perfect setting for ruining the lives of our students.
The malaise that has gripped the Education Department is best exemplified by the fake appointment scandal that rocked the department a few years back and continues to haunt the people. In such a scenario it is not surprising to see that mass copying has become the accepted norm with even parents and relatives pitching in with their knowledge to help their ward and children get through the examination. And no, it is not the Government or the teachers and the student organizations that took the matter by the horn and decided to take the fight to the culture of mass copying but an underground organization. All these paint a pathetic picture of the scenario that passes off as education here.
We comment on the poor state of education here because the current cease work strike launched by part time lecturers is one of its manifestations. This is not the first time the part time lecturers have launched a cease work strike and believe us this will not be the last. Like the earlier agitations, the part timers are demanding their basic pay in view of the acute financial condition we see no way by which the Government can extricate itself from the current situation. Should it give in to the demands of the part timers and plunge the State deeper into the financial mess or should it tell the agitating teachers that there is just no way that the Government can fulfill their demands?
Either way the Government cannot afford to ignore the matter any longer as the students have already made it clear that if a solution is not found by October 10 then they would be constrained to launch a series of agitation. Quite a unique situation, unique in the sense that nowhere else would one find students agitating to demand their right to education. The situation that we are now witnessing today is the result of adhocism by successive Governments down the years. The very term, part time, suggests that the appointment of such teachers under this category was a temporary measure to meet the shortage of teachers before the actual process of appointing the teachers comes about.
However as time progressed, Manipur saw a spurt in part time appointments and it is disgusting that no Government took the matter seriously enough to put a halt to the practice. Without a doubt the students have genuine grievances but it is our fervent wish and hope that their planned agitation does not take an ugly turn. The students should realize that in demanding their right to education they should not defeat the purposes that education stands for.
(Courtesy: The Sangai Express)
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