DC Edit | Heed Complaints By Students

While the Union government is making every effort to appear to have no idea about the consternation from the student community or the agitation taking place in New Delhi, the Supreme Court seems to be aware of this. He appealed to the government to “look at the amount of frustration of young children” while hearing a public interest litigation seeking directions to the government and CBSE to frame regulations for conducting exams through the screen marking system.

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s swift draw to the government’s attention on the same issue entered its 19th day on Thursday. But the disappointment is not just about CBSE’s misimplementation of the OSM system, which has affected 17 lakh students across the country. This is also about the disappointment of 22 lakh students who appeared for the National Eligibility and Entrance test for undergraduate medical courses and 11 lakh students who appeared for the Common University Entrance Test. The reaction that the hunger strike arouses among the public as the days pass is an indication of the growing disappointment not only among the students, but also among everyone who has a stake in the future of this country.

The Supreme Court sought assistance from the Union government to answer the questions contained in the petition filed by Rakesh Binjola, represented by advocate Laxmikant Matadan Shukla, and sought a fair and reasonable investigation into “patent irregularities” found in the OSM evaluation system. But in fact, this is an invitation from the Supreme Court to wake up to a reality that the government has steadfastly refused to accept. It is the duty of the government, not the court, to take action to resolve the issues raised by students. While doing this, it needs to start a dialogue with people on the street. This is the least that can be expected.