Irreparable Loss

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Irreparable Loss

Geoffery *

“The Foundation of every state is the education of its youth”
- Diogenes Laertius

Bandhs & Blockades cost couple of crores to the state exchequer every day. This is the visible, calculable and reparable loss. But certain losses, affecting the future of youth, are lasting, incalculable and irreparable.

Last year we had closure of schools/colleges and bonfire of books over the affiliation issue of educational institutes in hill districts of Manipur. The issue is still unsettled.

The result; number of students lost study days; number of students dropped down in the merit, pass percentages of students went down in annual results etc. This all happened in this competitive world when every day, every minute, every mark matters. More so, this region is already a underdeveloped region. These acts shove it further.

Certain losses are unseen. Think of the parents who had to use up money on buying the books again out of their paltry finance. Some student would have left studies due to incapacity of buying the books again.

Some students would have become disinterested in studies due to prolonged closures. Some of the students might have lost the valuable year for no fault of theirs etc.

Similarly, month long protests, organized by all Manipur Recognized private schools welfare Association, have commenced in Manipur.

Students are seen with the placards ‘ Let us Learn’ , ‘ Make education a Free Zone, Make education Peace Zone’, ‘No donation in schools, no bandhs, blockades, strikes, no harassment/no disturbance’, Allow us to study during bandh, blockade etc”. This is the cry of every student irrespective of the institute he is studying.

Students stage a demonstration appealing to all to leave educational institutions out of the gambit of any agitation on 8th October, 2007.

This opens up two issues. Firstly, what about Government sponsored schools? Are there no teachers, infrastructure etc? To quote; ‘in Tipaimukh subdivision there are 5 High Schools, 14 Jr High Schools, 11 JB Schools and 6 LP Schools’.

In all there are 36 Government owned educational institutes. Practically neither schools nor teachers nor students exist but state treasury is debited of the salary of teachers on its pay roll. Are these schools, infrastructure mere statistics to mislead? Probably this is the nuisance of remoteness that needs a steady monitor.

Secondly, why is the education relegated to grow as industry in terms of private institutes that survive and thrive only on donations, higher fee structures and off time tuitions?

Gone are the days when teacher-taught relation was valued. Today teachers are more interested in making money than the student’s progress. No teacher wants to go to remote areas.

There is no commitment for imparting education. Print media is replete with reports of scams involving either the education department or teachers themselves.

Thadou Student Association has forced a blockade on NH-39 for deplorable condition of education system and infrastructure in Sadr Hills, Manipur. Naga student federation has threatened an agitation, pending probe into Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan(SSA) financial misappropriation.

Can we say Teachers have turned Cheaters; the difference being only in position of letters? Probably we may not be right in laying full blame on them, when they do not receive salaries in time. How do we expect them to survive?

Recent survey, on ‘State of States’ published in India Today datelined 24 Sept 07, has concluded that the states who have addressed the social issues like investment in agriculture, education and health have been able to weather the storm of change. Out of small states of North East Sikkim leads the way followed by Mizoram and Meghalaya is last.

Literacy rate in the North East is 68.5 percent i.e. almost 4 percent more than the national average. Wow! But there is a difference in literacy and education.

Education involves three processes i.e. Learning, Remembering and Comparing. First two are literacy and third shapes the education. Literacy heralds education. Literacy rate of NE states beats rest of the nation.

Alec Bourne had rightly said, “It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated”. Education cannot be exclusive to a region/ state but self inclusive opening windows to the world.

Youth of this region is simple, hardworking and committed. It is showing its strength in various fields; games, competitions at various levels, music, beauty pageants etc.

What we need is some one (leader and not a politician) to garner the youth with the aim of lifting the youth. The day is not far when feeder lines towards decelerators of growth will perish and contribute towards accelerators of better society.

Let us build our youth for sunny future.

“We cannot always build future for our youth, but we can build our youth for future”
- Franklin D Roosevelt

* Geoffery contributes regularly to e-pao.net . The writer can be contacted at jaey_geoffery(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)in . This article was webcasted on 05th November 2007.

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