News of strange yet shameful way of pursuing career hit the newspapers in the last few days. Heard of double-crossing a spouse or lover but there had been double-crossing in career in the state of Manipur. Three medical students had been pursuing their career to become doctors while they were also earning their salaries and allowances as teachers in primary schools under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). Now they had been charged for fraudulence by Directorate of Education (S), Government of Manipur and their appointments had been treated as null and void. Ironically, all the three primacy school teachers happened to be medical students and this would be one of the greatest co-incidences in the history of mankind.
Among the three, one of the medical students named Waikhom Haripriyo Singh from Thoubal Achouba Bazaar Makha Leikai, Thoubal district was reportedly pursuing his MBBS course in JLN Medical College, Ajmer, Rajasthan even before his appointment as primary teacher of SSA in February 2012. His brother had been the teacher in his place at Chingjaroi Primary School. Directorate of Education (S) ordered to cancel his appointment on January 5. Almost a week later, two more medical students got caught for being frauds for the same issue and the directorate ordered to cancel their appointments too. Among the two, P. Messengeorge Dangshawa from Khukarthil village, Chandel district has been doing MBBS course at Jawarharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS), Porompat while working as teacher at Thumtam Lower Primary School. While the other medical student named Savani Lily RL from Koide village, Senapati district has been doing the same course at Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Lamphelpat while being a primary teacher at Kanjang Primary School. The three medical students easily knocked off other students in terms of earning during learning as academics, that also by doing a full time government job. All three of them must have been the bonafide medical students in their institutes, however their approach for security in life has been the most unacceptable one. Either they are too greedy for money or have a phobia to struggle in future. The ideology of these well-educated persons is too shameful to be called as doctors and most importantly as teachers who guide and teach the youngest generations of the nation. They not only preoccupied the jobs of the teachers unnecessarily from the needy persons but also made the whole system a joke. It would be easy to guess that still there are many more like them in other departments of government offices and institutes and it is quite scary to think that they are in the system. It is scary, not because they will ruin the system but because they will kill the positive mind-sets of millions of youths and the coming generations.
Coming to practicality of the issue, the appointments of primary teachers were done in the year 2012, which was during the congress government and the cases of fraudulent came to light after more than five years when the government changed. It is quite doubtful that if the previous government continues, the students would still be teachers enjoying their tenures of government schools at their medical colleges or at their homes. Though it is slightly late, the action taken up by the authority concerned under the present government is highly appreciable. Somehow, the state government is transforming for good. Likewise, every mistake should be accepted and every error should be corrected. Just like former president of United States, Ronald Reagan had said, ‘governments have a tendency not to solve problems, only to rearrange them’.
Leader Writer: Khogen Khoibam
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