Draw of lots for admission : Make education universal
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: February 17, 2015 -

Draw of lots. Lottery system. Definitely better than the entrance test touted by the Mission schools earlier.

It is about luck, but for want of a better alternative this is definitely a better exercise than subjecting young children to an entrance test seeking admission in Class I and II.

Some sort of a competitive examination it would have been, but better sense seems to have prevailed and the efforts of the Joint Students’ Co-ordination Committee (JSCC) should be acknowledged.

Luck, this is what parents and the young students will have to depend upon come admission time, but definitely no longer the time for the Government and others to keep on relying on luck and good fortune.

The reason why parents and students flock to Mission schools should be obvious to all.

With the Government utterly failing to give teeth to the understanding of universal education for ages it has been the Mission schools which have been moulding the young minds and preparing a better future for the children.

Little wonder then that some of the best minds today all had their early education in one of the Mission schools.

Other private schools have mushroomed in the last few decades, and while they too have done a commendable job, it is still the Mission schools which have been walking away with all the honours.

This is where the Government ought to step in and seriously study the methods and approaches of these schools.

Already the Class X examination under the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur is on and it will not be surprising if the Mission schools repeat their earlier shows and reap the lion’s share this year too.

The more Mission schools shine the more pathetic the Government schools become. A crying shame it should be for the policy framers of the land.

This is despite the fact that Government school teachers are paid much better than their counter parts in private or Mission schools.

There are also reasons why almost all Government school teachers prefer to send their children to private or Mission schools.

So far there is nothing much to show that the Government has taken up the needed task to make education universal and impart knowledge to students studying in Government schools.

Policies may be announced, but ultimately it all boils down to how sincerely the policies are implemented at the ground reality.

Given the way Government schools have been functioning for decades, it may be safely concluded that nothing much has been done to improve the quality of education at these institutions.

Also important to keep in mind that not all can afford to send their children to private or Mission schools. The inertia of the Government defies logic.

Maybe such reality does not impact the children of the high and mighty and the moneyed class, but it is criminal to deprive the poorer section of society the opportunity to rise in life.

The draw of lots may just be about the question of getting admission into a Mission school, but let it be clear that life cannot be decided by the draw of lots and education is definitely about life.

Hope this sinks into the consciousness of the Government.