Uniform academic session Focus on education

The School Education Department has made it clear. The decision to re-open schools from Class IX to XII from January 27 was taken in view of the coming Class X and Class XII board examinations and the same should not be taken to mean that schools can be at liberty to take up the process for new admissions. This much is clear, but one wishes that this point had been laid down in clear cut terms earlier, maybe at the time the decision to re-open schools for Class IX to XII was taken. As things stand, already some premier Mission schools have issued forms for the draw of lots to decide who can get admitted in Class I for the new academic session. To be sure a large number of parents and elders of family must have filled up the forms to be ready to submit the same when the day comes for submission. It must be the same in some other well known privately run schools where parents and guardians make a beeline to get their children admitted every year. The School Education Department has made it clear that the Government will issue a notification for the new admission process to begin to maintain a uniform academic session across the State. This line of reasoning sounds logical and perhaps it is only right that all schools stick to this. Lest it is forgotten, one should not forget that the virus is still out there and infecting people at will, though the infection rate seems to have dropped in the last couple of days. This however should not mean that the young tots should be exposed to any possibility of getting infected.
The anxiety of the parents and elders of family to ensure that their child get admitted in one of the more sought after schools is understandable and this is where the Government would need to look beyond its catchy slogan, School Fagathansi Mission. It is also only right for all to come to grips with the reality that a school is as good as the people want it to be. Making a school excel in producing good students is not and cannot be the sole responsibility of the school management and the teachers. The responsibility lies in each and every member of society. It is little wonder that a student body has taken the task of trying to make education a disturbance free zone. Only hitch is whether everyone understands who or what disturbs the academic pursuit of the young students. The Sangai Express has already made its stand clear on this on more than one occasion earlier, and that is not to involve young students in issues which should strictly be dealt with by the adults of society. Manipur has already seen how young students were herded out of their classrooms and made to  take to the street to demand a point or two and face water canons and at times batons from the cops. No wonder so many parents and elders of the family feel it incumbent on their part to send their children outside for their higher studies. It is not only schools which matter but the overall environment. So even as the School Education Department has made it clear that all schools need to wait for the Government to take a decision to start admission for the new session, it is time for all to seriously think over the atmosphere in which the young tots have to go to school.