Cleaning education sector: The curious case of former education minister

Sorokhaibam Rajen Singh. This name must be familiar, right? Well, everyone in Manipur must have known him for the last few years. If not, at least his name. The former education minister is, by far, the most famous education minister Manipur has ever seen. But, unfortunately, not by his good initiatives and deeds. The reason, everyone knows.
He shot to fame during the last term of the BJP-led coalition government the Chief Minister N Biren Singh headed, with his speeches that drew controversies and criticisms from all sections of the society sans his die-hard disciples. Curiosity, the people have, is: how and why former BJP decision-makers chose him to be the torchbearer of the state’s education system? A dire need to ponder this statement.
In one of his controversial statements regarding the recruitment of around 923 graduate teachers at the education department, Mr. Rajen announced that the government would set an example, unlike previous governments, by declaring the results within three days after the exam. It didn’t happen. But, it was no surprise. A lot of promises and announcements did not happen. History is the proof. The controversial part was when Rajen said: “We will try to recruitment on merit basis partially” Let’s note: Not all, just partly. In Manipuri, he said, “Merit-basis ta eikhoi khara adum, khara sengna tounaba hotnagani.” The statement comes at a time when Mr. Biren kept promising and boasting about a corruption-free government and the overhyped “School Fagathansi Mission.”
The controversy didn’t end right there. In one of the victory speeches at Awang Wabagai on March 11, Mr. Rajen declared that 14785 electorates who voted for National Peoples Party contender Pukhrambam Sumati Devi have sold out their rights and therefore, they will be deprived of all the government entitlements for the next five years. What was more astonishing is that the people gathered there gave him rousing applause. Who would have expected this undemocratic assertion from a seasoned politician, a representative of the state, who was given the education portfolio twice?
Soon after filing his nomination papers, Congress candidate Likmabam Manibabu pointed out discrepancies in Rajen’s educational qualifications. Setting aside their differences, his four rival candidates joined hands to accuse him of “dubious education records and even more dubious ‘age history.’ The former education minister had different claims. His 2007 affidavit said he graduated in 1985 from Manipur University. In the 2012 election, Rajen claimed to have passed BA in 1992. In 2022, Rajen said that he got his BA degree from YK College at Wangjing, which is under Manipur University, in 1998. In his clarification, he asked rival candidates to file an RTI to know the information, and he never mentioned the two BA degrees he said in the 2007 and 2012 affidavits. The clarification is still due to whether he got three degrees or not. People are still reeling under this suspense. As affidavits sway people’s opinions and choices, clarity is still demanded.
Leveling criticism on his English language knowledge and speaking ability won’t be a good topic. Still, people hope for at least some English reading and speaking skills from the person handling the education sector shaping the future of our students and society. Leaving everything aside, the former minister did not even have the audacity to speak in the Manipuri language, one of the country’s official languages, and his first language. Voluminous mockeries and memes came as replies to his speeches on social media sites by netizens, and people waited to watch his mouth.
The choice of the people is varied. Not everyone is wrong or right in a democratic setup. The majority wins the vote, and people are compelled to respect the result. Some people make decisions contemplating a candidate’s merits and demerits to being a lawmaker before pressing the button at the EVM. In contrast, many joined the mass in choosing a candidate depending on what near and dear ones and political leaders say. The Spiral of Silence theory of Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann perfectly fits here. The theory states that an individual’s perception of the distribution of public opinion influences that individual’s willingness to express their own political opinions. Therefore, blaming the constituents of Lamsang for electing Rajen to be their representative merited another editorial or a discussion.
People have lofty expectations from Education Minister to revamp the state’s education system. Now that N Biren Singh has won the race to be the state’s chief minister for the second term, the priority should be on who would bolster the education sector of the state? Here, the BJP needs to pull up its sock and assign the education minister’s role to somebody who will not put the people of the state to shame through his unfounded and shocking comments.