AA Edit | Heed Complaints By Students

While the Union government has been making every effort to appear as if it has no idea either about the consternation coming from the student community or the agitation going on in New Delhi, the Supreme Court appears to be alive to it. It has called on the government to “look at the amount of frustration of young children”, while hearing a public interest litigation which seeks directions to the government and the CBSE to frame regulations on conducting exams through an on-screen marking system.

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s fast calling the government’s attention to this very same issue has entered its 19th day on Thursday. But the frustration is not just about the CBSE’s faulty implementation of the OSM system which affected 17 lakh students all over the country. It is also about the frustration of 22 lakh students who took the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance test for undergraduate medical courses and the 11 lakh who appeared for the Common University Entrance Test. And the response the hunger strike has evoked from the people as days pass by is a sign of the growing frustration among not just students but also everyone who has a stake in the future of this country.

The Supreme Court has sought the help of the Union government to address the questions contained in the petition filed by Rakesh Binjola, represented by advocate Laxmikant Matadan Shukla, seeking a fair and reasonable inquiry into the “patent irregularities” found in the OSM evaluation system. But this, in fact, is an invitation by the apex court to wake up to a reality that the government has steadfastly refused to acknowledge. It’s the job of the government, and not the court, to act to address the issues raised by the students. And while it is at it, it must also initiate a dialogue with the people who are on the street. That is the least that can be expected.