Outside Manipur after Class XII : Create the right environment
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 15 2018 -

It is that time of the year again.

With the Council of Higher Secondary Education, Manipur having already announced the Class XII examination results and the CBSE expected to follow suit by the last week of May, quite a large number of students from Manipur will be heading towards colleges located in other parts of the country for their further studies.

This has been the story every year and this reality should worry parents and elders of society.

Moving outside to pursue higher education by itself is acceptable and may be even desirable, but when it comes to a question of students having to move out as there is not much choice here, then the situation is ugly.

This is what has been happening in Manipur for years and the tragic part is no one seems to have found any reason to worry over this.

Not all get into medical or engineering schools or other professional courses and given this reality, students have to attend college in the subject of their choice and that too mostly outside the State.

The question is, why do so many students feel compelled to study outside the State ?

Is it due to colleges in other States of India offering better education and avenues ?

If the answer is yes then why aren’t the colleges in Manipur in a position to compete with the colleges in other parts of the country ?

This is a question which everyone and not only the Government or the colleges concerned should ask themselves.

Is the place conducive for students to pursue their higher studies without much disturbances ?

Are the students given the opportunity to pursue their education without much disturbance ?

These are questions which should be raised continuously for remember not all are economically placed that well to send their children outside but feel compelled to ensure a better future for them.

This is not the first time The Sangai Express has raised this question and this will not be the last either.

Something has to give. Something needs to be done.

And it stands that not all the students who move out will be able to get admission in one of the more reputed colleges based outside the State.

This is where traders in education can come in to woo the students with promises galore but nothing much to offer in substance.

Those who can afford to send their children to costly private universities may do so but not all are rich and not all are that aware of the ground situation so the prospect of many having to shoot in the dark in their endeavour to secure the future of their kids cannot be ruled out.

The question is can Manipur afford this ?

Time for all concerned, the Government, those in the profession of teaching, the parents and guardians, the student organisations and the numerous civil society organisations to seriously look inward and see if the right atmosphere for the young students has been created or not.

Let an environment be created that parents and guardians no longer feel the need to send their children outside to study.

Let there be good colleges and institutions in the State, which can produce students who can compete at the highest level.

Till the school level, it is okay, thanks to the presence of numerous private institutions and time to upgrade this climate or environment to the college level.

This should be the responsibility of everyone.