Editorial
Admission to govt colleges
Political influence-peddling at work
One could not help feel ashamed after reading the report in Bangla daily Prothom Alo about the 'admission business' going on at the government colleges in the capital. Earlier, we heard about corruption in the cases of securing government jobs, but now we get to hear of efforts to seek admission into government colleges through the backdoor. What is the country coming to? Have we lost all our senses of correctness? Can we not do anything in a right and legal way? These youngsters who have recently passed out from school, are going to begin their real academic career on the wrong foot. They are trying to get into the colleges through the political backing of different student fronts. Firstly, merit is being completely degraded here. All the hard work before the final SSC examination bears little meaning. It now seems obvious that to ensure seat or admission in a good government college, a student does not need to study and pass with flying colours. Instead, one only needs to possess money and, of course, make friends with the Chhatra Dal or Chhatra League leaders of the colleges to gain an entry. In such circumstances, the college authorities seem helpless. As the report mentions, they have truly become 'hostage' to the student leaders. And secondly, the most worrying implication is the introduction of political divisiveness among the students from day one of their academic career. This is a sure recipe for academic disaster and political tyranny. One might raise the question of the students' sincerity, but the uncertainty about getting admission probably leads both the students and their parents to choose this path. If this is what happening in the government colleges of Dhaka, we can't even imagine what's happening in other parts of country, especially in the private colleges. We hope the authorities will not turn a blind eye to the situation and that they will devise a system where merit, not political connection or money, will rule.
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