A mere pass percentage of 65.22. This is the figure for the Class XII examination conducted by the Council of Higher Secondary Education, Manipur (COHSEM) this year and while the success rate is pathetically low, a good number of students will make a beeline for further studies outside the State. A clear reflection that college education in the State is pathetic. A point which has been raised numerous times in this column, but as yet there is nothing much to suggest that things will improve in the days to come. A look at the reality should tell the story. While the hard working students will obviously get into professional courses, not all will make the grade and hence the need to go outside for further studies. Moreover not all are Science students and so for those who took up Commerce and Arts, the option is to go in for degree courses like B Com. and BA and with college education here nothing much to write home about, it will be destination beyond Manipur. So it is that students from Manipur can be found in large number in some of the cities of India. On the face there may be nothing much wrong in students going outside for further studies, but when this is dictated by the lack of good educational institutes here, then it is time for everyone to seriously study the matter. Not all parents are well off to comfortably send their children outside, but with no choice here, there is just no option. So parents and elders will borrow, pawn anything of value in the family just so that their children can avail something educative.
Wonder why the Government has not given any thought to this so far. Also important for the numerous civil society organisations to sincerely question themselves whether students are given the opportunity to freely pursue their higher education. Is the prevailing atmosphere conducive for the students to devote their energy and concentration to their studies ? The fact that numerous students go outside to pursue their higher education should be more than indicative that everything that can go wrong have gone wrong for the students. This is unacceptable. This is the age of competition and excellence and nothing should come in the way of the academic pursuit of the students. There was a time when DM College was deemed to be one of the better educational institutes in the North East region, but where is it today ? What went wrong ? A question which should have been raised a long time back. However no one seems ready to deal with these questions and the result is the compulsion of thousands of young students to make a beeline for institutes based outside the State. The huge burden that befalls the parents and elders can only be imagined. This is not encouraging excellence. Time for all to give this some thoughts.
