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A post-poll public urging for change
By Vikram Nongmaithem
The field day for rats takes an ugly turn as a single political party has failed to win a majority to form a government. The Secular Progressive Front (how secular and progressive it is we are yet to find out) has for the time being occupied
a central position and claims to be able to garner a majority to form a government. Since the divided verdict of the people has resulted in a House composed of a motley-crew of MLAs it is very unlikely that the coalition will last very long. The anti-incumbency factor and peoples' apathy against established politicians is a thing clearly visible to our naked eyes as the election results have shown. So whatever the political formation it is going to be it is time to work out a practicable schedule for all those promises we were told and made to believe before the elections.
Sadly one important issue we missed in the agenda of almost all the political parties relates to knowledge-based sectors like the Information Technology and quality education. Today's world rotates in rhythm with information. The world has become a very small place and the Internet has made possible almost everything we wish to do in the field of telecommunications. While politicians of other states were vying to welcome Bill Gates when he came to India no leader from our own soil had the guts or the temerity to act in such a manner.
So,
where is our state's IT policy? The people in general do not even have a rough idea of what IT is and hence awareness programs should be spread to the every nook and corner of Manipur. Once the benefits are known to the masses entrepreneurship will naturally rise. The Internet is accessible only in certain pockets of the state capital and we are only wasting our human resources by adopting a late entry into the field of Information Technology.
The short supply of information or rather the absence of it only hampers growth and development. By keeping ourselves shut-off from the outside world we would be living inside cocoons where we are cut-off from the developments in other parts of the world. The culture of other nations should be allowed to flourish in our society without our culture and tradition being displaced or uprooted.
Unfortunately the opposite seems to be the case here in Manipur. And we are trapped in the gross consumerist culture of the West. It is only when a proper amalgamation and adjustment takes place that development works. Again, without the worldview being opened to us we will continue to be swayed by sectarian and ethnic narrow-mindedness that would only add problems to the already confused state of affairs. We as citizens need to think deeply and look into the future.
What would be the situation in Manipur ten years from now? What is the likely social and political scenario that is going to prevail? Most of us seem to be quite careless about it. Our local bureaucrats are not any less sinister than our top hierarchy politicians. A new kind of the foundation of social responsibility needs to be planted in the minds of our youngsters. Here comes the necessity for value-based education. Otherwise, a half-baked education system will only create maggots for our social drainage system. Technical know-how and capital that we are very much lacking at the moment should be taken in from other states and the pool of resources of the Manipuri diaspora living in other parts of the world should be taken into confidence. Sadly none of these things are likely to happen in the near future.
An old friend of mine recounted a story in which he described a situation he confronted two years back. He is from Ukhrul and had completed his post-graduation in History from Delhi University. Since he could not finance his studies anymore he had decided to study and stay at home after clearing NET (National Eligibility Test). When some Meitei friends of his came to visit him he was devastated because he had failed to join the interview for college lectureship in time due to lack of information. Such things happen more frequently than one can imagine. Small incidents like these contribute in creating a sense of alienation among the various groups of people living in the peripheral areas. It is high time our policymakers stop following the policy of
"let sleeping dogs lie." Because when those discontented people wake up late, they often wake up with a start and hence problems galore.
With the birth of a new government, it would be worthwhile to have a look at the education policy of the state. What kind of education are our youngsters imparted today? The National Policy on Education of 1986 and its subsequent modifications, which was a success in many other states of India, has failed to yield fruit in Manipur. The implementation process was a farce and the British introduced system aimed at creating clerks still continues in Manipur. Why is there so much corruption in educational institutes of the state that are meant
to act as vehicles in a nation's march to progress and development?
Only some months back we read about the seeping corruption and nepotism in the admission procedure of MCA course in Manipur University. It sounds strange that two university professors indulged themselves in tampering of marks. Are bullets a fitting reply to what they have done?
Again in the syllabus framing of the higher classes like the B.A. courses, there is a very wide gap between what is real and possible to implement and what is prescribed. Is it designed to meet the needs for imparting a true education or are we following a blind course? For example, in the year 2000 the syllabus of the History (Hons.), B.A.II includes a "History of South-East Asia" as an optional paper.
However, not a single book on the history of South East Asia could be found on the shelves of our college library (that too in the D.M.College of Arts, the so-called premier college of Manipur). We learnt that not a single class on that subject was done in other colleges at that time and we thought we were in an advantage. But the ugly thing still remains in the memory because that academic year not a single history student could cross 50 marks out of 100 in that paper.
In the recruitment process of teachers (both schools and colleges) only those candidates with power, pelf and political clout are selected and the end result is a great catastrophe in the system due to the failure of quality maintenance.
The problem of the part-time college lecturers is also a very big issue because most colleges in Manipur cannot run without them. So where lies the fault? The mistakes committed by our power lusty politicians years back are now spiraling back and college goers are forced to accept the fait accompli in a way they cannot understand. Since the state of the economy is very bad the Manicure government cannot even pay regular salaries to its employees. The education department, which has the largest number of employees, fails to function properly.
So a total revamp and restructuring is essential to keep the problems at bay. Failure to maintain a proper and regular academic calendar creates indiscipline among both students as well as teachers. 'Law and order problem' is often cited as a major hindrance for the maintenance of a regular academic calendar. But 'how true it is' is very much questionable. In the results of the board examination students from private schools always top the list and the pass percentage of the government run schools is very low compared to privately run institutes. Where does this scenario come from? Or will the state have to do away with these sarkari schools to save face?
Anyway most parents are keen on their children joining private schools. Even the children of our highly esteemed educationists are sent to private schools. Are we to blame them for that? This simply means that most people have lost faith in the system. It is time we asked ourselves if we should do away with the government schools for giving place to privately owned schools. Is commercialization and privatization of education a better option? How will the poor compete with those affluent people if such a thing happens?
Compared to the Imphal valley the situation in other outlying areas of Manicure is like chalk and cheese. There are still lots of people who haven't, even once, heard of Tikendrajit, Irabot, Gandhi, and Jadonang etc. Very often health is a major area of concern at least in the election agenda. But every year lots of people die of malaria and other diseases and the deaths go unnoticed or unreported.
Since governments have failed to reach and intrude into such areas, it is time for NGOs and other voluntary organizations to take the lead in spreading awareness and giving basic education to such groups of people who have been kept sidelined for so long.
Experience has shown that the 'sovereign' people are nowhere in the picture between two elections and have absolutely no possibility of controlling those who rule. It is precisely for this reason that corruption has been on the increase. So people need to shout in unison, "We will not forget your promises" from time to time. It is necessary, therefore, that we create a climate, a culture, a system, which will produce responsible men and women to take on the system as a whole. If we do not bring a systemic change in governance in which people will be their own rulers, as our past indicates clearly, corruption cannot be arrested, not to speak of eliminating it. It is only a combination of collective effort, will and moral responsibility through institutional changes that we can handle the problems bit by bit.
Otherwise, we are left with a Hobson's choice either to remain silent and still or being pushed to the wall by the anomalies of such a system.
(Courtesy: The Imphal Free Press) |
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