Change in school academic year
It is learnt that the All Goa Secondary School Teachers’ Association (AGSSTA) has opposed changes to the academic calendar which include starting the academic year in April instead of June.
The association has warned that these changes will negatively impact the overall education system in Goa. While the start of the new academic year from April 1 will affect the working schedule of the teachers, thought should also be given to the trauma students will have to undergo. After burning the midnight oil during the examination as students try to excel at the exams, they look forward to a well-deserved vacation along with family members.
In fact the task of vacation plans, travel booking and hotel accommodation is accomplished well in advance. Imagine the student’s plight if the vacation plans have to be shelved as the new academic year commences immediately. Students will not be mentally prepared to go to the next class.
Imagine having vacation in May, just after one month of the school reopening. After the vacation will the students be able to remember the topics completed in April or will they have to start afresh? More than the high temperatures and humidity in April, which will cause discomfort, dehydration and reduced focus in the classrooms, the change in the academic year will have a huge psychological impact on the students.
However, the students cannot raise their voice. Hence it is for the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) in every school to voice their concern.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
GBS patients need
to be counselled
Increasing number of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) patients in Pune has been reported. Since GBS is described as a “rare autoimmune” disorder, caused by a bacteria and transmitted by a virus, experts are puzzled. In plenty of patients, the exact cause cannot be documented.
Respiratory and gastrointestinal infections may trigger the nervous system. Importance of appropriate food, water and personal hygiene cannot be lost on anyone. Weeks later, however, a person may develop weakness and numbness in the lower limbs spreading to arms, and leading to a possible paralysis.
Pricking, and pins and needles in the hands and feet, is a typical description of GBS. As everywhere, the bacteria Campylobacter jejuni is said to be responsible for the Pune cases of GBS, and norovirus seems to have facilitated the infection. A person’s own autoimmune system attacks its peripheral nerves.
It is said that there is no cure for GBS. That said, timely plasma exchange, prompt intravenous immunoglobulin and excellent physiotherapy are known to give succour to the patients. Patients need to be counselled that recovery will be sure though slow.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
Remembering
T N Seshan
Remembering T N Seshan among the noise and din of election campaigning in Delhi with a sense of déjà vu when he cleaned up the streets of graffiti particularly in cities like Kolkata and put restrictions on loudspeakers to limit noise pollution and came down heavily on the offer of freebies to the electorate.
Nowadays, we find excessive offers from politicians and parties like giving youth doles of upto Rs 18,000 per month. The Supreme Court guidelines to limit sops to voters are being disregarded by the political parties or they are finding new ways to beat the system. Time to stop the indiscriminate distribution of public wealth.
Srinivas Kamat, Mysore
Moral crisis in
public life
Recent developments highlight a stark moral crisis in global and Indian politics. In the United States, President Donald Trump, convicted in a hush money scandal, assumed office after his sentence was suspended.
Shortly after, he issued presidential pardons for Capitol rioters linked to his party. Simultaneously, outgoing president Joe Biden granted a presidential pardon to his son facing felony charges, raising questions about ethical governance.
In India, similar lapses in moral responsibility are evident. Tamil Nadu ministers convicted by lower courts continue in office despite adverse judicial observations. Political parties, both national and State-level, openly accept donations from corporates facing investigations, some with direct commercial interests in government projects. This disregard for ethical norms reflects a worrying trend of self-preservation over public accountability.
Historical precedents stand in stark contrast. The then US President Richard Nixon resigned during Watergate, and Lal Bahadur Shastri stepped down as Railway Minister after a train tragedy. Such actions reinforced the principle of moral responsibility in public life. Today, the erosion of these values undermines public trust and democratic integrity. To preserve governance’s sanctity, leaders must prioritise ethics, ensuring public office serves the people, not personal or partisan interests.
Gopalaswamy J Chennai
President’s partisan speech
President Droupadi Murmu spoke about the need to uphold the values enshrined in the Constitution and praised the Drafting Committee of the Constitution headed by Dr B R Ambedkar for giving us such a document of flawless eminence.
It is unfortunate that, to show loyalty to the ruling dispensation which helped her move into the Rashtrapati Bhavan, she advocated the controversial proposal for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies as a means to define good governance. This, she has done, being fully aware of it that the draft bill on simultaneous elections, introduced by the Modi government is under review by a joint committee of Parliament.
The First Citizen has allowed herself to be drawn into a partisan political debate. She has acted in such a partisan manner in favour of the BJP government at the Centre.
Tharcius S Fernando, Chennai