Editor,
I must say it’s a great initiative taken by Sankardev College to organise a symposium on – “Political parties and political participation” which is much needed at this point of time. And we could see that at least 7 political parties were present in this event. Even though each representative of political parties had presented their own party’s ideologies my attention was drawn to the representative of the NPP for his statement on the causes of unemployment and high dropouts rates in the state. He said that we cannot just blame the government but attributed both unemployment and the high school-dropout rates to the laziness of the youth. If government cannot be blamed for anything then what is it for? To put the blame on students and youths is completely illogical and a weak defence of the present Government.
For instance, students who want to pursue higher education, say even to complete Class 12 have to think of leaving their villages and locating themselves in the Shillong where all the good schools are. We must know that it’s not an easy thing for those people to leave their homes and come to Shillong. First they have to look for rented accommodation which would at the minimum costs Rs 3000. Then they have to pay the school fees and also spend on food and other necessities. This is what I have witnessed with many of my mates who came from some remote areas. For a family to have to shell out so much money for one person is beyond the capacity of most. Some of them try their best to support their children at great cost to themselves and sinking lower into poverty because they have to take loans. When the students gets to know of his/her family’s financial condition they get demotivated and are left with no choice except to drop out from their schools and colleges. Had the government provided better schools and colleges in some of these remote places many young people would have been able to purse their higher studies. Girl students would have been able to study after Class X and this would have reduced teenage pregnancies. Unfortunately Government does not think of all this! .
Hence from my point of view I must say that putting the blame on students for being lazy is not wise. Party allegiance and defending the Party and Government at all costs to the point of making lazy statements that school drop-out is due to laziness of students is outrageous. People should not be obsessed with their parties, to deny every allegation made against their parties.
Yours etc.,
Aiban B Nongrum,
Via email
Current Relief provided by MPSC
Editor,
Through your esteemed daily; we would like to appreciate MPSC’s recent effort of changing the dated and partial syllabus of including Arithmetic (100 Marks) in almost all general Examination, in spite of including Quantitative aptitude (daughter, son, grandchild of Maths only) in General Awareness section.
By appropriately tweaking the syllabus (general exams); they are providing an equal opportunity for non-Mathematics/ non-engineering/ non-Science, background candidates to hope for competing such exams on an equal footing. Most candidates cannot afford coaching, tuitions; that too for posts that literally require Maths the least for the job!
Whether it’s level 15 post or lower, anyone in a sound mind would definitely appreciate a future employee with good logical reasoning skills rather than ability to crunch numbers in a job post that is not mathematics-centric. Previous exams syllabus had blindly given almost 50% weightage to Maths with Aptitude.
For those who complain that MPSC’s general exams are now easier, we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to them; start preparing for the interview, please!
Also, Central/ All India exams like UPSC CSE which allows any graduate to compete, has Paper 2 of Prelims with many Quantitative aptitude questions, but mind you, that paper is just a qualifying one!
P.S- MPSC doesn’t need to alter the syllabus (logically) to help their kith and kin (if they wish to) clear the exams; they could have just handed them the questions months before the exam; silly…
Yours etc.
Name withheld on request,
Via email
Time to promote Snooker & Billiards
Editor,
It’s encouraging to see the government supporting, felicitating and encouraging the athletes and deserving sportspersons who have brought laurels for the state in various disciplines. Recently the CM had assured more cash prizes for ace athletes of Meghalaya. On this score I would like to bring to the attention of the MDA Government’s a discipline, which so far been neglected. I am referring to the games of Snooker & Billiards which has seen a significant following by many aficionados since the last 7-8 years.
In India, today, there are over two lakh members participating in this game. They are keen to learn, intern, mature and compete to win top tourneys. They are also looking at the involvement of the centralized board BSFI along the lines of state-level academies like the Bangalore Snooker Academy, Tamil Nadu Snooker Academy, the Karnataka State Board Association etc., which has catapulted the game into a different level.
As of today, Meghalaya too has approximately 100 active players (including women), of which about 10-15 players can easily be trained to compete and challenge the nation’s best and exercise their skills at top tables across the country.
At present, there are barely any opportunities for Snooker & Billiards players to exercise and exhibit their calibre in both the disciplines. Introduction of the games to the “Meghalaya Games” syllabi is a welcome move. Some exceptionally talented players are looking forward to learning the game and performing better. A couple of club tournaments later, has seen the players develop their hitherto hidden skills and even women are participating and demonstrating their niche talents and adaptation to the game.
At this juncture what is needed are better coaching facilities so that the players are ready for national and international events. Being a player myself, I can vouch for the enthusiasm and interest of players, including the new ones who have participated in maiden tournaments. They are raring to go but the problem is that of paucity of snooker/billiards tables. At present, these are only 6-7 tables available at elite clubs where only members can play. It is time for the State Government to pitch in and set up a dedicated facility or academy where committed players can seriously invest time and energy to learn the game. This will enable them to participate in bigger national events.
Snooker & Billiards are definitely games where the entire Northeast, which has always produced outstanding talents should also major in and the time is now! Meghalaya can definitely be the trend-setter at least in this sport!
Yours etc.,
Priyankur Nandy (Anky)
Via email