Reflecting the rot in society Worshipping ill gotten wealth
|
Certain things, make that certain vital things, are just not right and it would take more than a call to set it right. Just a few days after students appearing for the Class XII examinations made it to the news for all the wrong reasons, tearing and burning the answer scripts, not only theirs, but also the answer scripts of other students, came the information from Democratic Students’ Alliance, Manipur (DESAM) that three persons have been rounded up with answers to questions for Human Ecology and Family Sciences papers. The rot must run deep, very deep and beyond this. While the first instance is about students taking things into their own hands and indulging in hooliganism the other points to the existence of a network of elements who will go to any length to ‘encourage’ young students to indulge in unfair means. The Government should not rest easy with the identification of just three persons and the others named by the student body, but unearth how deep the rot runs. Says something profound about society as a whole which seems to have embraced the culture of cheating and dig a little deeper then it should say something disturbing about the value system of society. A case of students, with the help of lumpen elements, reflecting the mindset of society, a society which now seems to have scripted its own version of ‘success’. And in the process ‘worship’ those who have gained material assets, never mind how those assets were procured. Not for nothing has it become ‘acceptable’ to fix a price tag on anything that comes with the understanding of ‘success’ and it is this mentality which has come out in all its ‘glory’ in the very act of vandalism demonstrated by the students on Day 1 of the Class XII examinations and in the detection of some elements involved in providing answers to students appearing for the said examination. The cleansing process should start from the top. When it becomes the norm to accept that Government jobs come with a price, with tongues wagging in every nook and corner on the ‘asking and giving rate’ of each job, then it is sure to have a cascading effect and obviously influence the mindset of the young students. This seems to be what is exactly happening in Manipur. Top to bottom should be the approach, a fact that should not be lost on anyone, particularly the thinking citizens of the land. The cheating culture that comes out in all its ugliness in the Class X and Class XII board examinations is nothing but a reflection of the rot that has seized the great Manipur society. Operation New Kangleipak, a movement launched by an armed and banned organisation in Manipur about two decades back, did go a long way in checking unfair means during the Class X and Class XII board exams, but it should be clear to all that to dissuade young students from cheating during exams, society should start cleansing itself. And it should start from the top.
Will not mean anything of substance to tell students not to resort to unfair means during exams when jobs are believed to come with a price. Does not make sense to expect students to walk the right path when society worships those who have gathered wealth and money through any means. When success is seen and understood through ill gotten wealth, then what is the message that is sought to be conveyed to the young minds, particularly young students who have not yet crossed their Class X and Class XII stage ? Who has nurtured and promoted the cheating culture in society ? Manipur should seriously be raising these questions within themselves, even as they digest the information that cheating and use of unfair means in the Class X and Class XII exams has become rampant. Something has to give for Manipur cannot afford to continue existing like this. And this is where the responsibility of the adults of society becomes important. Children should be taught that one cannot buy one’s way to success or get one a pass certificate by cheating. And the lesson should come from the adults of the family and by extension society. In short the cleansing process should start from the top.
Will not mean anything of substance to tell students not to resort to unfair means during exams when jobs are believed to come with a price. Does not make sense to expect students to walk the right path when society worships those who have gathered wealth and money through any means. When success is seen and understood through ill gotten wealth, then what is the message that is sought to be conveyed to the young minds, particularly young students who have not yet crossed their Class X and Class XII stage ? Who has nurtured and promoted the cheating culture in society ? Manipur should seriously be raising these questions within themselves, even as they digest the information that cheating and use of unfair means in the Class X and Class XII exams has become rampant. Something has to give for Manipur cannot afford to continue existing like this. And this is where the responsibility of the adults of society becomes important. Children should be taught that one cannot buy one’s way to success or get one a pass certificate by cheating. And the lesson should come from the adults of the family and by extension society. In short the cleansing process should start from the top.