Editorial
Rumpus across polytechnic campuses
Spillover on to the streets speaks of a deeper crisis
THE students of polytechnic institutes across the country are agitating fiercely over some new examination rules set by the Technical Education Board. While this should normally have been an academic issue to be resolved within the precincts of the educational arena, it has been dragged on to the streets and spread like something of a bushfire. It raises the question in the public mind as to why the students' outrage assumed such a stupendous proportion, rocking even civic peace.
It affected not only the polytechnic institutes and their students and teachers but also vehicular traffic, shopping complexes and pedestrians, let alone damaging public and institutional property. As the police swung into action to quell disturbances, clashes occurred with the students at different places.
When such things happen, nobody seems to be in control. We believe that the police should have the capacity to be preemptive rather than reactive. We do realise though, the authorities of the institutions themselves should have nipped it in the bud through persuasive methods. Actually, the institutes ought to have internal trouble-shooting mechanisms consisting of student representatives as well as those from the institutes. Basically it's a question of timely communication at all levels.
The issue is that the Board has framed the rule that the referred students will be allowed to appear in exams twice as regular candidates and if they appear for the third time, they will not be treated as regular students. But the students seem to be under the impression that the rules will cancel their studentship in referral cases. Without going into the merit of the decision that evidently concerns only the referred students and not the general body of students, what is particularly abhorrent is the demonstration of an attitude that if they don't show their destructive claws they can't make any point.
Clearly, the new rules have been misunderstood by the students. The polytechnic authorities have issued a clarification to allay the students' apprehensions. But what is regrettable is why they could not act before the situation went out of control. There has hardly been any communication between the students and the polytechnic authorities on the one hand, and between the polytechnic institutes and the board on the other -- a lapse that no post-facto response can compensate for.
The problem of student unrest over something that should have been internally thrashed is becoming a national concern. Thus, we suggest that the education ministry, the boards, the campus authorities and representatives from student communities initiate consultative processes aiming to build trouble-shooting mechanisms into the respective campuses.
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