Look beyond the act of rowdyism Time for Manipur to think
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If this does not compel Manipur to put on her thinking cap and look beyond the act of some unruly students exploding in anger and tearing/burning answer sheets and admit cards on the first day of the Class XII examinations then nothing will. Look beyond the act of rowdyism and sincerely try to study how things have come to such a pass. The anger, the mindset that the invigilator or the teacher in charge should have given them the extra time needed to finish their answers are all indications of the rot deep within. If students as young as studying in Class XII come under the impression that they have every right to indulge in rowdyism then Manipur could well be looking to a future where youngsters with the mindset that they can bulldoze their way through will one day become adults of the society. Something, somewhere is horribly wrong. Why did the students explode in anger with such devastating effect just because they were not given more than the time allotted ? Did the teacher or invigilator on duty acted in a manner that could have angered the students no end ? Why did the students run out of time ? Were they really concentrating on the question paper of the day ? Was time lost due to any reason ? Questions these are, but ultimately the conduct of the students is unacceptable and Manipur will need to go beyond the very act of tearing up or burning the answer scripts, for in more than one way the conduct of the student can be said to be a reflection of the values imparted to the youngsters. The reality more than says that bulldozing one’s way, young students coming under the impression that they have the right of way, reflect everything that is wrong with society as a whole and this is cause for concern. What happened at Wabagai Higher Secondary School on the first day of the Class XII examinations is a reflection of the reality, a reality that says that students, right from their tender age are exposed to issues and things that should ideally be dealt by adults of society. When students are goaded and even encouraged to take to the streets and muscle their way through, when students are made to face the lathis and crackdowns in pursuit of anything, then it is time for society as a whole and the Government to seriously think whether they have been delivering a sort of a message that might is right. What Manipur saw on the first day of the HSSLC examination was the explosion of pent up anger bottled up deep inside the psyche of the young students and the impression that they have ‘every right’ to protest in whatever way they deem fit. The result was the act of tearing up and burning the answer sheets after the examination.
Something, somewhere is definitely, horribly wrong and society as a whole need to look beyond the very act of burning/tearing the answer sheets and try to study how such an incident came to pass. Was it a thing waiting to happen and while on February 17, it was a case of answer sheets being torn and set afire, there is no guarantee that things will not take a more ‘ugly’ turn, if steps are not taken to address the root cause/s. Discipline, this is the key word that sadly seems to be missing in the lexicon of many students today. It is also not uncommon to see young students in full uniform zooming around on their fancy two wheelers when the watch on the wrist and the clock on the wall clearly says that it is school time. How have things come to such a pass ? Time for society, the parents, guardians, elders of the family, the school authorities, the Government to sincerely think over the atmosphere that has been created or allowed to be created for the young minds to imbibe. Today it is about a group of students tearing up answer scripts and tomorrow it could be anything. Does not say anything good for Manipur as a whole and it is society which will lose out in the long run. Class XII is that stage when students should start preparing for the challenges of life ahead and the examination is the first step towards this.
Something, somewhere is definitely, horribly wrong and society as a whole need to look beyond the very act of burning/tearing the answer sheets and try to study how such an incident came to pass. Was it a thing waiting to happen and while on February 17, it was a case of answer sheets being torn and set afire, there is no guarantee that things will not take a more ‘ugly’ turn, if steps are not taken to address the root cause/s. Discipline, this is the key word that sadly seems to be missing in the lexicon of many students today. It is also not uncommon to see young students in full uniform zooming around on their fancy two wheelers when the watch on the wrist and the clock on the wall clearly says that it is school time. How have things come to such a pass ? Time for society, the parents, guardians, elders of the family, the school authorities, the Government to sincerely think over the atmosphere that has been created or allowed to be created for the young minds to imbibe. Today it is about a group of students tearing up answer scripts and tomorrow it could be anything. Does not say anything good for Manipur as a whole and it is society which will lose out in the long run. Class XII is that stage when students should start preparing for the challenges of life ahead and the examination is the first step towards this.