It is encouraging to see so many personalities coming forward to felicitate the young students who have excelled in the just announced Class X and Class XII examinations conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur, Council of Higher Secondary Education, Manipur and the Central Board of Secondary Education.
This is good for it is a standing testimony that young students who burn the midnight oil and strive to do well in their studies are given the right support and encouragement.
And it is at times like this that everyone, the numerous civil society organisations, the student bodies, the State Government, parents and elders and the young students themselves should raise the question of whether the right ambience has been created for the youngsters to excel in their studies and character formation.
It is at a time like this that all should ask why thousands of students deem it better to move outside the State to pursue their higher studies.
Is it a question of choice or are they being compelled by the reality here to move outside the State for higher studies ?
A question which has been repeatedly raised by The Sangai Express in this column and will continue to do so, for so far there has been no response from any of the responsible quarters.
In creating the right ambience and environment for the youngsters, one may be said to be working towards the future, but in spoiling and polluting the environment of the youngsters, one may be said to condemning the future to doom.
And this is exactly what seems to be happening in Manipur.
The drug pushers, the liquor sellers are marked people.
Everyone will agree that these elements have been taking a heavy toll on the youngsters and hence the future of the land and the people, but how about those who deem it fit to play with the future of the children under some high sounding slogans ?
Why should young students be made to take part in issues which should ideally be the concern of the adults of society ?
Has the right environment been created for the young mind to develop freely without the shackles of some pre-conceived notions ?
Time for the people of Manipur to seriously ponder over these points for what one is talking about here is the future.
For starters let all stop using young students in pursuit of some demand from the Government or anyone else.
Let that be the job of the adults who understand the issue.
Makes absolutely no sense to pull children out from their classrooms and make them take to the street to pile the pressure on the Government.
This is one reason why parents prefer to send their children to educational institutes which are not affected whenever the State goes up in protest against any policy of the Government.
Time to create an environment where young students can concentrate on their academic pursuit without any disturbance and the answer to this can come only from the people.
Source: The Sangai Express
