By Albert Thyrniang
It is no mean feat that Kevinstrong Lawriniang from Mairang in West Khasi Hills topped the SSLC examination 2021 beating all the elite institutions in the state. Coming from the humblest of backgrounds to record the lifetime achievement makes it more special. The second position was also secured by Wanteibok Pator from Mookaiaw. There were also inspiring stories of how students excelled in spite of challenges arising out of the pandemic. A student among the top 10 narrated the story of how she had to share online classes with her four other siblings using the same mobile phone.
As it’s Olympic season we have to share success stories from Tokyo. Manipur’s Mirabai Chanu, India’s first medallist who won silver in women’s 49 kg weightlifting had to travel 50 km daily by truck to and from her practising venue. The Olympian who eats on her kitchen’s floor honoured the lorry drivers after returning from the “Land of the Rising Sun”. Boxer Lovlina Borgohain who won a bronze medal in the women welterweight hails from Bara Mukhia village in the Golaghat district of Assam, did not have a motorable road to her house. The greatest history maker is javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra who became the first Indian ever to win a gold medal in athletics at the Olympic Games and only the second Indian individual gold medal winner in Olympics history. The 23-year old is the son of a farmer in a village in Haryana.
Equally headline making is the revival of India Hockey. The men’s hockey team won its first Olympic medal after 41 years, the last being the Moscow 1980 gold medal. The women’s team agonisingly missed the medal podium but won lots of hearts for their scintillating display.
We witness these exploits in level playing fields. Competitions are on equal footing. The victors emerged purely on merit. So Mairang and Mookaiaw could leave Shillong and Tura behind. The ‘coup’ should help debunk the myth that rural students cannot shine. It is irritating to me when ‘educators’ themselves say ‘village kids cannot learn computers, are not able to speak English and cannot compete with their city counterparts’. This writer was privileged enough to oversee rank holders in two institutions. On both occasions the rankers were from rural settings. The level of knowledge, ability, skills and achievements do not depend on the place of origin. All children are born with equal capabilities. It’s opportunity that determines their growth, development, career and future. If opportunities are provided the Lawriniangs, the Mirabais, the Lovlinas, the Neerajs, hockey plays and athletes will surface from any corner. Academic excellence and sports medals and trophies can come from unexpected quarters. Given the opportunity stars can be produced from anywhere.
Does equal opportunity exist in education and elsewhere? We noted that the Mairang student triumphed over candidates from more celebrated city schools. But Mairang is not an unknown location. It is not an unheralded town. It is a flourishing centre. It is going to be the capital of a new district. If candidates from obscure hamlets grace the merit lists then we can say education in the state has come of age. If institutions from far flung villages produce first divisioners or achieve cent percent results then education in the state has matured. But that scenario will not be a reality in our lifetime because in villages infrastructure is pathetic, teacher absenteeism is at an all-time high and ‘contract’ teaching is rampant. There are rural primary schools (Classes I-V) with just one teacher. There are schools without maths and science teachers for most part of the year. How can they be asked to compete with schools whose teachers have off periods? How can they compete with schools with qualified and trained teachers? There is no level playing field.
If a comprehensive analysis is carried out South West Garo Hills (23.01 %), South Garo Hills (27.50 %), North Garo Hills (27.88 %), West Garo Hills (34.63 %) and East Garo Hills (35.10 %) performed poorly in that order because educational opportunities were denied to their students and certainly not due to inferior intelligence of students! On the other hand the reason for West Khasi Hills (58.28 %),Ri Bhoi (62.40 %), South West Khasi Hills (70.78 %), East Khasi Hills (71.97 %), West Jaintia Hills (73.41 %) and East Jaintia Hills (85.09 %) doing well is because of better opportunities and not because of higher capabilities of their students.
Do we provide a level playing field in the society? Do we promote fairness? Do we consider merit above all else? Do other considerations clandestinely but prominently come into play? Do we try to gain unfair advantage over others? Are power, money and influence decisive factors? Do we display our privileges to extract advantages? Do we misuse religion, race, caste and sex? The victorious party in 2014 and 2018 general elections exploit religion to telling effects with the top leaders polarising the entire electorate. The present regime has allegedly influenced judges to bail it out with favourable judgements assuring of quid pro quo post retirement appointments. Elections are perceptibly won with the help of the Election Commission and the propaganda media houses. Pegasus is illegally spied on opposition leaders, journalists and activists to access information secretly. Draconian laws, investigation agencies, and enforcement organizations are selectively used against opponents. Elimination of fairness is the mission.
In his swearing ceremony speech that has been posted in Youtube and Facebook, the present president of the KSU narrates how job aspirants approach him. On being asked the reasons if they have the necessary skills and qualifications they revealed that they know no influential individuals and they do not possess the ten/fifteen lakhs to chinch the dream job. So government jobs in Meghalaya are for the highest bidders together with nepotism.
One of the MLAs of South West Khasi Hills reportedly stated that youths should depend on themselves and not depend on political patronage for jobs. However, he was caught with a text message mistakenly sent to another Whatsapp group where he instructed his supporters to apply for vacancies in government departments. So clearly words and actions do not match. Merit has gone for a toss and thrown out of the window. The ruling class controls the government ‘job market’.
The mushrooming of illegal coke factories under Sutnga Elaka in East Jaintia Hills cannot happen without traditional leaders-bureaucrats-political nexus. The trick that did the job are cash, bribes, corruption and personal interests. One of the owners is a minister in the MDA government. How could the 32 coke factories, that have become health hazards, get the single window clearance under the Chairmanship of the Chief Minister himself to set up units adjacent to human habitats? How are the illegal and polluting ‘chimneys’ able to operate till they literally choke the breath of villagers? Why have we welcomed with open arms the exiled businessmen from Arunachal Pradesh to pollute and damage our environment? Who benefits from this harmful deal? How dare the factories not comply with the closure orders of the Deputy Commissioner on July 15? Who are the owners linked to? Why was the DC not able to penalise the non-compliance? The government is teaching citizens this – ‘You can even do dubious business provided you have the right connections.’
What follows is a brazen and blatant disdain for the law. The coke factories were able to procure an uninterrupted supply of raw material – coal in the midst of a mining ban by the Supreme Court. Was NGT unaware? Was the district administration blind? Did the police look the other way? Was the state government ignorant? Why has the court not taken suo moto cognizance of multiple reports of existence of illegal coke factories? Coke and coal illegalities and scam and favouritism in MeECL are public lessons on the absence of fairness in the state.
It is amazing that the income support for the poor promised at the onset of the pandemic almost two years ago is still to be expedited. It requires an un-relenting follow up from Thma U Rangli-Juki (TUR) for hopes of the beneficiaries actually receiving the meagre Rs 2100 meant for the 2019 lockdown. Had it not been for the civil society it would have passed off as an undetected ‘pandemic scam’ that enriches few pockets. It is a classic example of the poor being taken for granted and taken advantage of by the powerful.
A group has alleged special treatment to the BJP. The saffron party was permitted to organise political meetings during the pandemic attended by a general secretary in Shillong and Nongpoh even by-passing the deputy commissioners and exceeding the limit of attendees. Reportedly there was no subsequent censure for violations. If the BJP is granted permission for political gatherings while Coronavirus rages, why not for other parties? If in the Laban meet violators are not punished why are others elsewhere fined for the same offence? We demand equality as a right!
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