So the Ministry of Education has put an end to the annual Christmas party at public schools in its customary form, (there still appears to be a level of public uncertainty as to just which schools/regions are affected) proffering instead a different model of seasonal revelry, a supervised, sedate, sit-down Christmas luncheon where music will be restricted to Carols and where dress will be confined to school uniforms.
The now outlawed accustomed Christmas party, the ministry says, has provided occasion for students to behave improperly and even to break the law in some instances. Experience tells us that there have, indeed, been occasions on which the Christmas parties have thrown up distasteful, even unlawful occurrences and that, over a protracted period of time, the ministry had seemed either unable or unwilling to do anything about it. It has now acted, this time, it seems, in a rushed manner; still, it would be wrong to ignore entirely the fact that it has acted out of a sense of self-preservation, so to speak. It understands only too well that whenever the seamier side of the old-style Christmas party and its unfortunate repercussions have reared their heads previously, it is the ministry that has had to carry the can.
Those who wish to see this as a somewhat drastic, even draconian measure, may wish to place themselves in the shoes of an already ‘under pressure’ Ministry of Education that continues to absorb public punches over school-related occurrences in circumstances where it has been perceived to be leaden-footed and short of remedial initiatives. But an objective analysis of the decision cannot, in fairness, end there. The reality is that in terms of its public image, the ministry appears to be, frequently, in a sort of salvaging mode. That is why, arguably, it affords no room, or inclination in this instance, for a bandying of words with what one might call other ‘interested parties’ as to whether the accustomed school parties should be banned or otherwise.
Frankly, this is not the ideal form of image management. One feels, for example, that something could have been said publicly much earlier about the Christmas party issue if only to allow time for the heat, which it was always likely to generate, to cool off. The ministry’s problem, of course, is that it finds itself in a sort of face-saving mode. Accordingly, its line of reasoning may well have been that in circumstances where it (the ministry alone) will have to carry the proverbial can for such unfortunate fallout as may derive from this year’s Christmas parties, it had to act decisively and alone.
As the country drifts steadily into the so-called ‘silly season’ associated with general elections, there is likely to be a political take on every conceivable public issue. In the instance of the ban on old-style school parties, former Education Minister Priya Manickchand has responded by reportedly charging that the ministry is unable “to manage schools in a way that gives children wide and varied experiences that allow them to learn and socialize even as they are taught to do so in a responsible manner.” As it happens and whatever that means, it resembles a kind of opportunistic politicking (that is certain to become more pronounced the closer we draw to March 2, 2020) that conveniently circumvents the fact that wild school parties are nothing new and that no worthwhile effort has been made, across the various political administrations, to remove this scourge. No amount of political polemic will remove that reality.
What, seemingly, is a move by the Ministry of Education to have the popular Christmas parties replaced with more austere, teacher-supervised ‘sit down’ affairs, bereft of the offerings of the ‘dance hall’ idols and where the music is limited to Carols, is unlikely to ‘wash’ with most contemporary teenagers. Here, one suspects that those who favour the racier entertainment options will probably seek to transfer their ‘Christmas parties’ to homes, clubs or even convenient open spaces. By removing the events from within the ambit of the schools, if they are allowed to do so, the near adult party ‘animals’ could raise public security issues which, of course, are police matters. We have to ensure that it does not come to that.
