CM’s state-wide tour of schools a welcome initiative

Letter:
It’s very heartening to read the report ‘CM begins state-wide tour of schools from Ravangla’. And it is even more heartening to see the Chief Minister act promptly on his announcement made on Bhanu Jayanti this year to embark on a tour to meet students and Panchayat office bearers.  
The need for the Chief Minister to interact with students had been felt for a very long time given the fact that students and youth make up a sizeable chunk of the population both at the State and national level.
The students rightly need to be motivated to work hard right from the beginning to make their presence felt at the Central Services level and to be competitive.
And the Chief Minister was right when he said in Ravangla on the first day of his tour that “The future of Sikkim lies in the hands of our students”. But we should also remember that the future of the students lie in the hands of the teachers.  That is why the Chief Minister was candid when he said that teachers in Sikkim lack passion. But teachers should not take this otherwise. They must do some contemplation and realise that they have a big responsibility towards students. C.S. Lewis, the Irish novelist summed up the role of a teacher beautifully when he said ‘The task of modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts.’  That is the kind of passion our teachers should possess.  And students in turn should be zealous to excel. They should have the proverbial ‘fire in their belly’ to reach for the stars.
The State wide tour of schools by the Chief Minister should not be dismissed as a publicity stunt or a political gimmick. We must as responsible citizens, parents and guardians refrain from making callous remarks and terming the initiative as being politically motivated. We must get rid of our tendency to condemn, criticise and attack. It is not healthy to always harbour anti establishment sentiments. Why always go with the flow when we are capable of making independent judgements?
We may belong to this camp and that camp. But our children go to the same school and sit in the same class. They are oblivious from politics and it should be kept that way.
Let the students benefit from this as much as possible. Let’s keep students away from politicking. Let the students see their leader in flesh and blood. Let them meet the Chief Minister with an open and inquisitive mind instead of forcing perverted ideas on them or confusing  them and making them sceptical. Otherwise the whole purpose of this exercise will be defeated. And nobody will gain anything positive.
Jashoda Chettri [recvd on email]