Editor,
Apropos the letter to the editor appearing in your esteemed daily under the caption “Oppressive Attitude” (ST December 15, 2020, by some Student Community of Mawkhar expressing their deep anguish, frustration and anger over the labourers of the Rangbah Shnong’s daughter’s bakery, Mawkhar, I on behalf of the Mawkhar Dorbar Shnong, request the concerned Student Community to immediately meet the Two Asst Headmen and the Block VII representatives of Mawkhar Dorbar Shnong within 3 days from the date of publishing of this letter to resolve this issue. In case they fail to do so the name of the letter writer will be obtained from the esteemed office of The Shillong Times for further necessary action by the Executive Committee of the Mawkhar Dorbar Shnong.
Yours etc.,
General Secretary,
Mawkhar Dorbar Shnong
Shillong
Spare a thought for students
Editor,
In these highly unprecedented times of the Covid-19 pandemic, where not even a daily wage earner nor a top bureaucrat is safe from the overwhelming reach of the virus, a sizeable chunk of the population is under duress: mentally, economically, physically, and socially.
Keeping all this in mind we also need to pay attention to the plight of the students, regardless of which level of education they are pursuing. I write specifically to bring to the attention of the greater public about the issues that plague the college students under the banner of the North-Eastern Hill University. Difficulties ranging from the lack of proper internet connection for online classes to the inequality that exists between the students who reside in the capital and the students who had no choice but to head back to their respective home towns in the light of the pandemic. Instances galore of students being asked to submit their examination papers online and their inability to do so due to the server crashing and multiple bugs present within the app “MyPerfectice” which was graciously rated at a generous 1.4/5 stars on Google Play Store, have surfaced. The App is not even available in the Apple App Store to begin with. There were also situations wherein the app did not show the status of the submissions made by the students to ascertain whether their papers have been accepted by the system or not. This created an atmosphere of anxiety and panic within the student community.
There are instances where students who had indeed submitted their papers through the app but were being marked absent were also prevalent. There were also instances of students securing zero marks, which is highly improbable. Apart from that, colleges outside the state capital which conducted offline exams also reported of instances where students who appeared for their papers were marked absent when the results were published. Situations like these demoralize students especially from marginalized backgrounds, where education is not perceived as a “must-have”.
Student Unions should seriously take into consideration the issues faced by the students. The fight for ILP (Inner Line Permit) and the protests against laws such as the CAA (Citizenship (Amendment) Act) and the NRC (National Register of Citizens) may be seen as worthy causes, but the issues of the students, who are the future of our society, should not take a backseat at this critical juncture where the voices of the people, with special reference to the multiple associations of teachers across the state of Meghalaya, ought to be raised against these injustices that place our children at a huge disadvantage.
Yours etc.,
Eleazer Giri Kharmalki
Via email
Correction
Editor,
In my letter to the Editor that appeared in your esteemed daily (ST. Dec 16, 2020) under the caption “Vacancies in State Government departments”, kindly correct the numerical figure at paragraph 2 from 183 to 83, vacancies purported to conduct selection proceedings.
Yours etc.,
Jerome K. Diengdoh,
Via email
On strict mask wearing
Editor,
Coronavirus does not discriminate between the rich and the poor, or between the healthy and the unhealthy. The only way to keep the virus at bay is by wearing “clean” masks. The government should have rammed home the point on wearing “washed/clean” masks instead of just wearing masks. The majority of people do not at all bother to wash their masks. This is prevalent more among the underprivileged communities.
But what is disgusting is that in many public and crowded places, people do not at all wear their masks properly, nor do they maintain any physical distance? Like sunglasses they sling the piece over the head, while some wear them below the chin and some others just wear it like a muffler. Is this not an open invitation to the virus?
Since the government has eased restrictions on some social and public events and tourism sectors now, the Covid precautionary measures must be followed as meticulously as possible. I think some kind of “pecuniary penalty” must be imposed “strictly” and “consistently”. Look at how the Government’s order for the mandatory wearing of helmets for pillion riders has been followed now. Our police force has done a great job by coming hard on the offenders. In fact, it is the “hefty amount” of fine that has acted as an effective deterrent. The people will not understand the language of civility until it hurt their wallets.
Yours etc.,
Salil Gewali,
Shillong
Can voters rely on regional parties?
Editor,
Every once in five years, regional parties come out with multi-colored manifesto but once voting is over the manifesto is forgotten, especially when caught in a ‘Coalition of the Willing.’ In this current government the regional parties are drifting every way the wind blows. A classic example is the UDP that seems to control the government behind the scenes by hoodwinking other players. One will also notice that other regional parties are absent except during the Assembly session where they suddenly come ‘alive’. That the UDP begins to portray itself as an ‘alternative’ and is asking people to reject the NPP and Congress reminds us of the duplicity of such political parties. Perhaps it’s time to apply our minds and conscience both to observe which political party stands out. Some say we should consider the Aam Aadmi Party as an alternative.
Yours etc..
Dominic Stadlin Wankhar
Via email