This discussion is intended to gather the experiences and thoughts about the present and future of the education with regard to the pandemic, from academicians and non-academics cutting across disciplines and geographical boundaries.
The digital media is therefore, in many ways, a gift to simpletons who believe in whatever nonsense is thrown at them, and even more so to the creators and designers of this nonsense. The various platforms on the internet, from Facebook to YouTube, on which one can “say or write anything”, are literally like freely available weapons to be used by any know-it-all – innocent or partisan –to throw drivel at everyone on the street. It is not the case that there was no stupidity in the world in earlier times but the means to make stupidity ubiquitous were absent, thus limiting the amount of nonsense that could be created and injected into the system, and also the speed at which it would propagate.
A simple way to maximize benefits while keeping the costs to a minimum is to take issues which have a mass appeal but in which people in your immediate circle are not under any blame. The issue concerns something at a non-personal level, which could be societal, ideological, legal, political, international etc. On the other hand, if you find an unethical act at your own institution, the costs of protests are large and the benefits are small.
Epidemics have both, a clinical and scientific side as well as a governance and public health management side.
The word ‘science’ always creates pre-eminence in the human brain, and we socialized in the same way of being, beholding this as an orthodox mark of excellence. However, the compassion and love for science are merely visible in just the lyrics and have vanished unhurriedly from academia. We are heading to a future of dark undemocratic path in science academia at most of the higher institutions in India.
Academicians have a high ethical responsibility to humanity in general, to be open to criticism, and to encourage telling the truth irrespective of consequences. But unfortunately, many academicians are carriers of unscientific, irrational and illogical thoughts which undermine the true values of science. This is a major impediment to the creation of a better society.
Physical distancing by closing down schools, offices, businesses and staying at home is all that we can do to slow the spread
Chance of death from Covid-19 is not very high; only 35 of 1,000 cases are dying on an average.
Confluence invites articles from its readers on the moral/ethical duties and responsibilities of academicians towards their profession, the student community and society at large.
Let students think. Let them make their own choice. Do not ridicule their dissent as ‘dirty politics’. Of course, they have to know that violence in any form is disallowed. But to the intelligent, physical violence is redundant anyway.
When the market logic of customer-service provider creeps into higher education, the pressure to constantly be productive in a circumstance where your basic existence as a student is under threat due to political reasons becomes a mental burden.
Can we consider a person’s intellect well developed if that person is not aware of different national level political ideologies or does not have any opinion regarding what is happening around them? If they are aware and touched by political developments around them, and feel strongly about a cause, can we ask them to keep their mouths shut?
