The chain of events at the premier University of the region located in Shillong – North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) suggest that things are far from normal. How can a students’ body looking after students’ welfare physically attack a faculty member and wound him? If there are misgivings about the faculty member’s performance as a teacher or if he has said or done something that goes beyond the ambit of his teaching role then the first line of approach is to seek the opportunity to dialogue with that faculty member. Since there is also a NEHU Teachers’ Association (NEHUTA) what the students’ body could have done is to take their complaint to this teachers’ association and discuss the matter through dialogue. But again dialogue requires communication skills and the ability to present one’s points in a cogent manner. The problem with most young people today is they make up for their lack of communication skills by getting physical. As a result they mar their own academic careers and also soil their own antecedents for future job prospects. In a small city like Shillong the name of the student leader who assaulted a NEHU faculty is in everyone’s memory bank. What could be this student leader’s chances of finding a job in any college or university in the state of Meghalaya?
However, the nuances of dialogue should have been taught at the school and college level through practical demonstrations. For that we need committed teachers who care for the future of their students and are not in the profession only to earn their salaries. Dialogue brings together diverse voices and allows a platform for those voices or grievances to emerge. When each side has had their points of view out an independent negotiator (NEHUTA) decides who is right and who is wrong or whether both parties might have been wrong in their respective positions. Then comes the point where the grievances of both parties are resolved through a series of actions from both sides. This practice needs to be adopted by all institutions. Students’ grievances against their teachers (and there are many) need to be addressed through dialoguing otherwise such incidents of physical assaults will continue whether that be in NEHU or elsewhere.
Unlike other forms of discussion, dialogue requires self-reflection, spirit of inquiry and personal change to be present. Participants must be willing to address the root causes of a crisis, not just the symptoms on the surface. Healthy dialogue is extremely important to strengthen and expand cooperation in any institution and one of the main ways of resolving conflicts is communication between people. Conflicts happen because people have stopped talking to one another and adopted obstinate positions. The idea that only one side is right and the other is wrong is also a faulty premise. A student leader in a university might be under pressure to prove himself capable of taking on a faculty member who has riled a student on any issue. But getting physical is a crime and that’s what all organisational leaders should understand.
