Simple act of goodwill

It was indeed heartening to note the sentiments expressed by Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on the kind gesture of Sri Lanka’s cricketers to have undertaken to tour his country at a time when the rest of the cricketing world had virtually abandoned Pakistan citing security concerns.

Addressing the packed Gaddafi stadium in Lahore after handing over the trophy to winning captain Mahela Jayawardena of the One Day tournament the Premier was almost emotional in expressing his gratitude to Sri Lanka for obliging, hoping this would pave the way for dismantling misconceptions that has isolated Pakistan as a sporting venue.

Interestingly Sri Lanka was in a similar predicament a couple of decades ago when the country experienced a drought of international sporting events due to the self same security reasons.

One recalls the time when we were jointly hosting the 1996 Cricket world cup when two participating teams refused to come to Sri Lanka to honour their commitments. At that time Pakistan was one of the two countries which undertook a goodwill tour as a gesture of solidarity to save us from the embarrassment (India being the other). Fittingly we returned the compliment and the Sport Ministry and the Government should be commended for reciprocating the gesture.

This also signify South Asian solidarity which is the underlying theme of SAARC. It is such simple acts that reflect, the goodwill and camaraderie between SAARC countries that are enunciated at every Summit.

Not all the conferences and reams of paper that are produced at these talkatheons can compensate for the true unity and the spirit of goodwill in such tangible form as demonstrated by our cricketers by standing by their SAARC neighbour in their hour of crisis.

Sports they say is a great leveller and is the only medium that can cut across all boundaries and obstacles transcending all cultures and ideologies between people and nations. This was proved to the hilt by 22 players on a cricket field that ought to be emulated by all those whose cry for unity and regional solidarity while confining themselves only to words.

Disciplining students

Spare the rod and spoil the child is a famous saying associated with corporal punishment though it has lost it’s meaning in this day and age where not only the education system but even school discipline has undergone huge upheavals.

Time was when the sight of a headmaster or school principal inspired awe and dread among students. The cane was a necessary fixture in all classrooms and students and parents alike accepted the punishment meted out to miscreants.

There was no questioning the authority of the teachers. On the contrary parents were keen to see their children punished for indiscipline or lagging in studies. That was of course in a different milieu.

It was a time when the head teacher of the school was the sole guardian of the student during the hours spent at school. There was discipline and regimentation that was taken as an article of faith by all concerned.

Sadly though this scenario no longer exists in most schools today. Children have become more assertive and teachers don’t have the same hold on students as they did in the past.

Parent’s too have joined the fray and take teachers to task for disciplining their off spring. As with all other things ‘liberalisation’ had even crept into the school system undermining old values and customs.

So much so Education Minister Susil Premajayantha himself has been drawn into the melee. According to a front page story in our weekend paper the Sunday Observer Minister Premajayantha has focused special attention on the type of corporal punishment administered by school teachers to students.

True, as the Minister has noted harsh punishment could bring negative results or even cause psychological effects on the students. But what is laughable is the Education Ministry having to issue circulars on ‘methods’ of punishment to avoid problems.

It would be better if such a course is avoided since it would undermine the authority of the teachers and lead to further decline in the standards of discipline in schools. The best course would be as suggested by the Minister for regular meetings between parents, teachers and students to reach an understanding.

The ambience in the classroom should not be disrupted by enforcement on the teaching community. It is they who are responsible for not only imparting knowledge but also moulding the character of our future generation. Nothing should be done to detract from this role.