Meghalaya has no dearth of pressure groups who are deferentially referred to as NGOs, although they don’t qualify to be called as such because they are non-registered bodies. The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) is obsessed with the uranium issue and the fact that some wealthy tribals are buying land in and around Domiasiat, West Khasi Hills. Across the country the youth are troubled by the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and the fiasco over the manner of correction of the CBSE papers. In Meghalaya data states that 3815 students wrote their NEET exams this year. They have not joined forces with the protestors at Jantar Mantar either because they must have done very well and are sure of passing that exam or because they are not used to speaking up for a cause. Perhaps they are looking at someone else to start a similar protest here. Across the country and more so in Delhi young people have joined the hunger strike to demand the stepping down of Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan for messing up such an important examination.
Investigators into the NEET exam paper leak found that portions of the question paper had been circulated before the examination, with substantial overlap between the leaked material and the actual paper used on the day of the examination. They have also zeroed in on an organized cheating racket involving criminal networks that were selling access to the leaked paper and facilitating cheating for candidates across several states. The investigation has now been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) but the plight of 22.05 lakh students hangs in the balance especially those who did well in the first round but were so shocked by the paper leak that they could perhaps not have given their best in the second round. It is psychologically disturbing for young people to know they can’t trust their examination system and that so much is left to chance and to all kinds of criminal elements in this country. An Education Minister that cannot even guarantee free and fair examinations has no right to continue to sit and preside over his Ministry and an important one at that, on which hangs the fates of millions of aspiring youth. Yet the protest by the Cockroach Janata Party at Jantar Mantar is looked at askance by the Modi Government and different motives are attributed to Abhijit Dipke and Sonam Wangchuk the leaders of the movement.
In Meghalaya it would be expected of the Khasi Students’ Union to lend their weight behind the CJP movement but there’s only a conspiratorial silence as the Union continues to be fixated with other political issues but shows no interest in education related ones. That’s the plight of ‘real’ students in Meghalaya. There’s no one to take up their cause. The same is true for students who wrote their CBSE exams. After the results were declared more than 1.6 lakh students applied for verification or re-evaluation within just a few days. This happened after a young student – a professional hacker- went public and stated that the evaluation process may have had systematic errors and he proved this with facts. If young people of this country lose faith in a system that tests their intelligence and critical thinking capacities then who and what do they place their faith on? The fact that the Education Minister stubbornly holds on to his chair is an insult to the youth of this country.
