Make education a free zone. This has been the slogan of student body, DESAM for long now and the motorbike rally held under the theme ‘Disturbance Free Education Zone Demand’ on July 5 was perfectly in line with its slogan of freeing education from all sorts of disturbances. In as much as the exercise staged by DESAM was significant it is also a sorry statement on the overall situation here in the State. That a student organisation deemed it fit to organise a motorcycle to let the students pursue their academic career without any disturbances is a telling story of how the academic pursuit of the young students are always compromised on one issue or the other. And most of these issues which derail or threaten to derail the study schedule of the young students have nothing to do with the academic pursuit of the students. As pointed out numerous times in this column, this is one primary reason why parents are compelled to send their children outside the State to pursue their higher studies once they finish their Class XII.
At the same time it is also important for all student organisations in the State to seriously ponder whether they have also been contributing their mite in disturbing the academic atmosphere of the students. This is where a frank appraisal is needed. As of now, it seems to be only DESAM which has taken up this line explicitly, but this should be no reason for the people not to take note of their stand. After all it is about the future of the young students and the future of the students means the future of the land. Correlate this observation with the understanding, ‘students are the pillars of society’ and everything will become clear.
Students being dragged out or rather convinced to come out from their classrooms, take to the streets and stage protest or raise a demand on issues which should ideally be dealt by the adults of society have become the norm in Manipur and this is something which all right thinking people should come together and see how to neutralise this growing trend. And when one talks about students in this context, it is invariably about school students. Seldom is it that one hears about or sees students from colleges and the university being asked to come out from their class rooms and take to the street.
Here it becomes clear that only young school students who cannot and are not mentally ready to raise questions about the issue, whichever issue it may be, are the ones who are being targeted. Is it a case of promoting the herd mentality which gives no room for individual minds to question ? Does not portend well at all for education, as is understood universally. Time for all, particularly society, led by the numerous civil society organisations, student bodies and others to question whether students are being given a fair chance to study or whether they are being used to pursue something which should ideally be dealt by the adults of society. Let students study. Let them be aware of the happenings around but do not drag them into all the issues and do not disturb their academic calendar. This should be understood in the motorbike rally organised by DESAM.
Source: The Sangai Express
