But it is a chronic problem: for the students of MCE have always complained about the state of affairs at their school, and this newspaper has been there to see for itself and to chronicle the unremitting situation. And if truth be told, we have to say that infrastructure and the general ambience at MCE are not conducive to learning, especially for those whose job it will be to teach young people, most of them in their critical teens attending junior secondary school. Simply put, the material conditions at MCE would turn the ancient Greek proponents of the Academy - among them Plato - away, stinting as they were in their attitude towards anything approaching the opulent. And yet, at another extreme, the conditions at MCE would also repel the sages and hermits, who mentored future monks at monasteries, to whom material abjection was highly esteemed. We are saying the tendency of authorities to dismiss the grievances of students at every turn is not helpful.
Of course, we do understand that this spontaneous reaction may be informed by the tendency of students to use radical methods instead of going through 'appropriate' channels. But even so, what of it? It is in the nature of young people - especially students - to be radical and Marxist everywhere, especially when they believe bureaucratic bad manners and slowness will hinder progress. Many of us have been there, have we not? Afterall, we recall that it was in this spirit that we thought Chinese authorities were being heavy-handed at Tiananmen Square in 1989 and that they had squandered many opportunities to engage with the students before the grievances of young people became a groundswell of massive protest against the establishment. With that in mind, we note that the Student Representative Council at MCE did all in its power to bring the students' grievances to the attention of the authorities. Infact, so serious about seeking a solution was the SRC that during the process, it even involved the District Commissioner. When the SRC failed to disperse the striking students and a Task Force appointed by Minister Jacob Nkate failed to address the angry students, things collapsed. To get out of the standoff, the Ministry of Education and Skills Development resorted to its old kneejerk ways - close the school and order the scamps home! And all because, among other things, the students were often plunged into darkness and could not study because their power supply was overloaded or short-circuited. Quite some skill there, we must say!
