Ignoring the perfect solution to almost everything
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: September 17, 2022 -
FROM the viral video clip that was circulated some time ago on social media of the angry students of Poiroukhongjin High School throwing their text books furiously at the office of the school headmaster,
to the recent incidents of students of Moirangpurel High School boycotting classes and staging protest in the school premises
and their Heirok Higher Secondary School counterparts coming out on the road to take out a rally against shortage of teachers and infrastructure,
to say the least, are a sad commentary on the functioning, nay, non-functioning of the government schools in Manipur today.
Ironically, Moirangpurel High School at Andro in Imphal East district, is said to be one of the schools selected to be developed as model schools under the School Fagathansi Mission of the state government.
However, the issue of shortage of teachers and necessary infrastructures at many of the Government schools in the state, which force the students to come out of their classrooms and launch protest every now and then has certainly cast a shadow of doubt on the effectiveness of the School Fagathansi Mission, which was launched with the singular objective of improving the functioning of Government schools.
But how the government schools are going to function and provide quality education to the students when there are no adequate teachers to teach them and infrastructure to boost in imparting education?
This is a moot question that needs to be answered.
There are no two arguments on the importance of education in this modern age of knowledge.
Nelson Mandela, the South African anti-apartheid activist and first president of South Africa, once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
Indeed, education is much more than just acquiring knowledge for getting a job and fulfilling one's ambition in life.
It is a powerful 'weapon' for promoting empowerment and freedom.
In addition to providing innumerable benefits not only to the individuals receiving it, educated and empowered individuals go on to create ripples of positive change in their communities, societies, and ultimately the world as a whole.
So, education can help in resolving many of the issues afflicting the world today.
As education helps in proper understanding of the world around us, making us less susceptible to undue influences of others; an educated person better understands their own and others' purpose in society, and their rights, and this leads to a better understanding of social problems, fewer conflicts and make them more tolerance of differences in the society.
In short, apart from being the backbone of the society, a sound education system provides a stable foundation for development the societies of tomorrow.
Understanding this important aspect of education, the government of Manipur should take up every possible measure to make its School Fagathansi Mission more meaningful, for imparting proper education is nothing less than finding the perfect solution to almost all the problems that the state is facing today, starting from youth delinquency to drug menace, on one side of the spectrum, to unemployment and economic recession, on the other side.
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