DOWN, BUT CERTAINLY NOT OUT

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Prof. D.Samuel Lawrence has written the following in response to a news item in The Hindu, presented here in the previous post.

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In the long list of ups and downs witnessed  in the four year old struggle for the protection and preservation of the unique identity and glorious individuality of The American College, the news about the approval given to the illegally appointed person as Principal, by the Madurai Kamaraj University Syndicate, is bound to come as a blow to our faith in the triumph of Truth and Justice..It would be our natural reaction. We are surely disappointed at this development but, we need not despair.

Can we ever think of this utterly incompetent person occupying the hallowed position of Principal adorned by selfless and scholarly individuals who did everything in their capacity to bring name and fame to this institution and made it a pride of Madurai? Is it not an irony of the cruelest kind that this College, well-known for its academic achievements and innovative programmes, and noted for imparting education aimed at producing men and women of integrity and courage is to be administered by a person who doesn't have the necessary academic qualification, administrative experience or character?

What is happening now is surely indicative of the larger malaise affecting the society in general and Education in particular. Unfortunately, money and influence make things happen and while utterly worthless people are able to push their way through to positions of power, the really capable and the really meritorious are sidelined or ignored. Manipulative politics is at its worst in academic bodies making a mockery of education which is supposed to make human beings better. Universities and colleges have become hotbed of petty politics where only the wily and unscrupulous could survive.. With politically appointed  corrupt persons at the helm of affairs in universities, is it not foolish to expect justice from them?

But, even in this enveloping gloom of darkness, not everything is lost. The evil forces appear to gain the upper hand now. History has umpteen number of examples of the seemingly hopeless situations turning into glorious victories at the end, when pressed hard with determination and single-minded devotion to the cause..Needless to say that  unity is the need of the hour.

The unseen hand of God,  which has helped us all along, will continue to help us to achieve our aim. The American College was founded by God himself through his servants- the early missionaries and He will most certainly help it to weather the storms it is facing now and enable it  to  emerge victorious so that  it would continue to serve the society as it has done all these years.

D.Samuel Lawrence



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