Eijaz Mir
“The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose.”Khalil Gibran”.
Collapsing a country, a state or a region does not require the use of atomic bombs or long range missiles. It requires lowering the quality of education and allowing cheating in the examinations by the students. Patients die at the hands of such doctors. Buildings collapse at the hands of such engineers. Money is lost at the hands of such economists and accountants. Humanity dies at the hands of such religious scholars. Justice is lost at the hands of such judges.
“The collapse of education is the collapse of nation”: The cries and woes of the people living in the four corners of the world are witnessing the fact, how helpless, hapless, devoid we humans are, as we fall prey to a minor creation of God. The people have frozen, they are immobile, their activities are blocked, and they are looking and begging for the drops of Godliness mercy. This minute virus has taught us unfold and better truths of lives , altogether erasing thousands and lakhs of lives of people inhabiting on this planet. If it gets going like this, the world will be conquered by animals and the human race will be exhaust for ever. This virus has not only effected human population but also curbed and restrained the standards and level of education too. Since Education is the only tool or weapon through which our mode and means of prosperity and development, can march to success, but it is deteriorating day by day as the pandemic is heading our system of education to unending and incomparable disaster. The students are suffering immensely, ruthlessly, and this sign of deteriorating education is the worst form of denouement and our valley is leading from the front. While on one hand, world is locked down from previous two months, but on the other hand Kashmir has been suffering from it for nine long months, the worst ever hit region in the whole world at the brink of loosing education. We are running short with all possible equipments and avenues to upgrade our education system as the continuous lag, delay, and inappropriate grudge did not go the way we like achieve desired goals. The outcomes and results of this pandemic are leading all intellectual minds towards a rare sort of mental breakdown where we may sustain covid19 but can’t prove our capacities on ideal thinking. Although some of the think tanks may plot planning of imparting education on various online apps via zoom classes but would never yield utmost outcome on ground level. This strategy could not prove the appropriate substitute to real classrooms, where teacher is supposed to teach on rational and practical grounds, where students reveal actual and desired inputs and outputs of learning and teaching techniques. Even when there is no access to 4G internet services, then it is mere a futile exercise. Loss in education is a worst loss and is irreparable and with every it creates dents in the society very badly and it couldn’t be get back on track with same speed and magnitude. The burning world is full of tension, anxiety, depression, as it seems that the pandemic has taken the oath of eliminating all humans from the world map. Collapse of education is also not less than a pandemic, a catastrophe in making. The future of nation is lying on the shoulders of youth, only if they are intellectually sound and rationally educated. But what, if they are lacking it as a whole, leading its national progress in damn sort of failure. The national grades and ranks are based on the foundation of sound execution of education and all the milestones have been acquired only, if having this all. Collapsing and deteriorating education in our valley could not yield us any fruitful result, and day by day it is lagging. The collapse of education is the collapse of a nation. Covid19, as if, going to relieve us on one special day, what about if education is collapsed? It is a million dollar question. It may sound like that the people are not thinking about education right now because they are battling against deadly pandemic. But I bet you, it will cause us a severe intellectual and rational damage. Especially our valley which is front line racer in collapsing education. The huge losses in business, trade and commerce, agriculture and economics could be compensated, repaired but collapsing of education is irreparable. The valley has been in tough times for a long period and this has degraded our standard of education. Our students are unable to focus on levels of strong and healthy competition in education system. The overall standard of education is at huge stake and is at the verge of deterioration. At present, when the world is combating covid19, Kashmir is suffering from dual pandemic, covid19 and the collapse of education. As it is commonly said, that if you want to ruin a nation just put away its youth from education. Same is being experienced in this region; the youth have been barred from intelligentsia and are too far to achieve their rational and legitimate goals. The collapsing of education in the valley leads its inhabitants to the darkness, where people are not able to decide rational and irrational. The people are not decisive, their level of ignorance has reached the sky, and they have become superstitious. Our strong foundation has been ruined by putting us far away from education and it is degrading at an alarming speed, the standard and excellence is too falling prey of below standard level strategy. How long we shall suffer this sort of collapsing education? To end this deadly pandemic in the valley, I solemnly take the concentration of the intellects to come forward and excel this collapsing education. The intelligent quotient needs to be enough strong to overcome all this collapsing system of education in Kashmir. We want our students to reach unlimited standards of success, not by cheating in examination but by putting their nerves out and excel in real education standards, and make our Kashmir proud. I bet you, if we all perform honestly and contribute on rational thinking and on practical grounds, determined self services to the motherland, the level of education will not halt us. The timely approach will save our collapsing education system. It is commonly said, better late than never, the educational think tanks need to collaborate their strategy to upgrade this deteriorating and collapsing of education level in the valley and need of the time is to regenerate possible and better avenues. let them think! Finally I quote the great Aristotle, “The Roots of education are bitter but it’s fruit is sweet.”
(The writer is a freelancer. Views are his own, [email protected])
