Another bandh after 12 hours bandh over: From July 18 to Aug 8
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: August 09 2019 -

12 hours Thangmeiband bandh over, now to be followed by yet another Statewide bandh and there is no indication that the issue at hand may be cracked anytime soon.

It is also not clear if and when the CBI will take the case under its investigation.

Found dead under mysterious circumstances on July 18 at her hostel and apart from pulling up the Principal of the school, the two hostel wardens and the son and daughter of the Principal, there is nothing to suggest that any breakthrough has been achieved.

All suspects and picked up in connection with the death of the young school child and no one as yet has been convicted. This much is clear.

What is also clear is the fact that the JAC formed in connection with the death of N Babysana will not give up the fight until what it sees as justice is delivered.

No one can say anything definite at this point of time, but the issue here also encompasses how private school hostels are run and managed.

A point already touched and commented upon here on more than one occasion.

Is the Government working on anything to ensure that all school hostels in Imphal adhere to a prescribed format or will the different hostels be allowed to function according to their fancy and whims as is being done now ?

With the issue still alive, more and more unsavoury stories about the hostel and how the young students are ‘disciplined’ have kept coming out and this is what is disturbing to note.

For one, it is a given that all past pupils have fond memories of the time they spent at their respective schools, but obvious that there are some who think otherwise when it comes to this particular school.

And the most intriguing part is why so many parents prefer to send their children to this school as well as the hostel ?

Perhaps the fact that this school manage to have some of its brighter students occupy a rank in the examinations conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur and the Council of Higher Secondary Education, Manipur may be the reason why this school is the preferred institution for some parents.

However with the stories that have come from some of the past pupils, perhaps it is time for parents and elders of the family to have a different yardstick while opting for a school for their children.

Academics alone should not be the guiding light for parents and elders while choosing a school for their children.

Other parameters ought to be taken in such as the facilities available at the school and the hostel, the way students are treated and whether corporal punishment is a given in any of these schools.

Awareness on the part of the parents and guardians can certainly go a long way in checking how schools and hostels function and treat the students and the boarders.

The situation is indeed today ugly.

The said Principal is a sad and cruel departure from teachers, read Principals, who everyone look up as the guardians of the young students and the very fact that she has been remanded to custody should open the eyes of everyone to the importance of the post they hold.

In the death of N Babysana, let the people as a whole learn some lessons which will prove beneficial for the young students.