Sainik School : Reflecting society - Treating cancerous wound
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: July 30 2011 -

Make no mistake about it. What is needed is correct diagnosis and this can be achieved only by adopting a rational approach to the issue at hand and what happened at Sainik School, Imphal on July 24, 2011 is one such case where the right approach cannot be compromised at any cost.

At the moment Sainik School, Imphal is in the news for all the wrong reasons and while it is important to authenticate the veracity of the charges and counter charges flying thick and fast between some groups of the students and the school authority, particularly its Principal, the more important point is to acknowledge that something, somewhere is wrong.

This observation is necessitated by the fact that what happened on July 24 inside the campus of the school came within a span of less than 365 days after the first such incident on November 26, 2010, and any attempt to overlook this significant point would amount to missing the woods for the trees.

This does not necessarily mean that there is a link between the two incidents but the similar mindset of the students coming to the fore for the second time in less than a year is too significant to dismiss.

This acknowledgement, the capacity to admit that there is indeed something wrong is then the first, constructive step that has to be taken and the question is whether the stakeholders are ready to admit this or not.

It is also equally important to realise that what Sainik School needs at the moment is not any exercise in witch hunting or playing the blame game but trying to find where the sore point is so that the treatment process of applying the healing balm can be started in right earnest.

What is a matter of worry is not the damages caused to the school properties by the rampaging students but the deep cut inflicted on the reputation of the school and if the correct treatment is not administered then there is every likelihood that the wound from the cut may fester and ultimately turn cancerous.

It is also important for all to admit that identifying the sore point and accordingly taking up the treatment process cannot be the responsibility of the school authority and the students alone.

The incident at Sainik School may have happened inside the closed and fortified campus of the institution, but it carries a sharp reflection of the social reality of Manipur.

It is here that the roles of guardians, parents, teachers, the school authority and the students themselves become important. The only point is whether all would be ready to jump on the band wagon and decide to travel towards the same destiny or would prefer to pull along different directions. In other words, it needs the collective efforts of all to remove the carcinogenic properties from the wound.

Some plain talking may also be in line. In the first place, students have no right at all to go on the rampage and defile the sanctity of an educational institution. Such conduct betrays an inherent mental make up that anyone can throw their weight around and this is something which cannot be accepted under any circumstances.

From whom has this notion been picked up is a question that should prick the conscience of every parents, elders and guardians. What happened within the school campus was an explosion of the negative vibes picked up outside the school.

On the other hand, it also needs to be acknowledged that students going on the rampage inside the campus of a school is something extraordinary and more often than not, it is extraordinary circumstances that compel extraordinary backlash. Being strict is something very different from being autocratic.

Discipline is not something which can be enforced on anyone, but it should be something which should be imbibed. And for discipline to prevail, the right climate is needed and hereby arises the question of whether such a climate, such an atmosphere has been created or not and this should be placed at the doorstep of the school authority.

Degrading the dignity of a young student is anathema to discipline, but such is the situation that very often these two overlap and many a parent, guardian, elder, teacher and schools have confused the two and it is here that the people wielding the authority need to be sensitive and at the same time firm.

The combined effort of the parents, guardians and the students themselves is indispensable in ensuring that the sanctity of an educational establishment or institution is not defiled under any circumstances. This is not a lecture on how to train students or bring up a child, but just some observation brought about by experience.

To heal the inner wounds inflicted on the school, it is important that all realise the futility of passing the buck and pointing the accusing finger at each other.

Ultimately it is the responsibility of all concerned and the moment finger pointing is resorted to settle a score or two, then it may be safely concluded that the process of wrong diagnosis has been initiated.

Sainik School is an institution that does not belong solely to the school authority and the students and their parents and guardians but to the society as a whole.

Ultimately the conduct of the students is also a reflection of the gradual erosion of the values held by society and there is nothing comfortable about this.