Wednesday, January 12, 2022

The tales of sordid Sinpra

Sinpra was an English teacher. Exactly how she became one remains a mystery beyond any measure of comprehension. It simply defies logic. Her capabilities are non-existent and her qualifications dubious. For the teaching profession, that is. And, there are plenty who would vouch, under oath, that she hadn't once held a Wren & Martin in her hands, let alone teach or even read from one. Of course, it is doubtful if she knows what Wren & Martin is.

It is surely a matter of great fortune that Sinpra has retired after long years in teaching, a profession for which she had neither the inclination nor the aptitude. Mercifully, a whole crop of students now stand to be spared of her ineptitude. But, what a whole lot of others had to endure being her students is so shameful that the only reparation lies in her being prosecuted for criminal delinquency, negligence, misdemeanour, and a host of other related charges. It can well be reckoned, without an iota of doubt, that she, along with her kind of shamefully incompetent teachers, may have well caused the present state of unemployability among the youth in India. The present state of public discourse and intellectual bankruptcy are other similar such fall-outs. If these are not crimes worthy of severe punishment, then I do not know what else is.

But, before you hee-haw about the severity of my accusations, here are somethings for you to consider. It is "estimated that 33% educated youth in India are unemployed due to lack of future-ready skills, despite obtaining a degree. Over 53% of the respondents also confessed that they were unable to find the job of their choice. Almost 75% said that training in futuristic skills could have helped them in bolstering their professional career." [Source: ImaginXP]

Anyhow, this post isn't about India's plaguing employability problem or some shining quick-fix to make things better. I could go on and on about supposedly educated or qualified people who cannot put together two sentences of any language to make sense about what they intend to communicate. However, this post is about Sinpra and her aptitude, or better still, the lack of it.

Sinpra's letters are comical or tragic. Or both, depending upon how you would want to look at it. She almost always doesn't begin with any salutation. There are no dates either, presumably due to the foolhardy notion that contemporary letter writing, even of the utmost formal kinds, does not require any dates to be mentioned. And, then, there is her spewing that comes with either no punctuation at all or so full of them in all the wrong places. Decoding the garbage she produces in the form of sentences is evidently far more complicated than the efforts of Alan Turing and his group of code-breakers who broke the Enigma during the Second World War. 

On one occasion, when she declared the passing away of a relative who lived in a far off place, some of us struggled to comprehend the facts, lost in the appalling nonsense of her lingo, bewildered and wondering if it was the person in question, their spouse, or the place that had actually passed away!

Sinpra is the kind you would call 'WhatsApp Queen' or 'Chancellor of the WhatsApp/Facebook University' - the abhorrent kinds who would unfailingly and relentlessly inundate you with ludicrous forwards imploring you not to ignore them and to continue circulating them onward. Just how an entire generation of people seem to be hooked on to this despicable activity, on an everyday basis, is difficult to comprehend.

For every retired or banished Sinpra, there are hundreds more that emerge. Crawling like vermin, deep and high into the echelons of a tired and superfluous system that requires urgent reform, if our future generations would have to find any place in an increasingly competitive world. 

But, these deadwood Sinpras that infest our systems will fight tooth and nail to avoid any reform or even the slightest mention of it. How else could they survive and thrive? Other than by keeping alive an unmeritorious ecosystem of dimwitted non-performers who have callous and scant regard for their profession or the consequences of their actions. Ever notice maggots feasting on rotting flesh or flies gorging on fecal matter?

10 comments:

  1. Merit is not always beneficial. There was a quote that goes something like, uneducated people steal from the train, educated people steal the whole train!

    While it is true that the world is getting increasingly competitive, it may not necessarily be a good thing.

    In the name of merit and ability, we are unleashing monsters unknowingly. Actually, we know but don't want to admit.

    Destination Infinity

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    1. So, what do you propose? That we do not educate our future generations or let them be schooled by incapable teachers?

      On a lighter note, one hopes that you don't end up making the national education policy, for the sake of the nation ;-)

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  2. ...my son taught English after college in Cambodia and Korea, married a Korean woman and now teaches English as a second language here in New York State.

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    1. Thank you, Ashok. Wishing you a very happy and successful year ahead.

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  4. Of course, beyond the ability to learn, what taught us is vital. Teachers are like coaches in the sport; however, talented students, their guidance help win a challenge. You brought up a valid perception of how important a teacher's role is in shaping the youth in India; like they say that politics isn't bad, but the perspective of bad politicians paints grease on politics. Today the skills of many are only displayed on certificates which they lack in reality since many degree certificates are printed for money.

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    1. Very well said. "Today the skills of many are only displayed on certificates which they lack in reality since many degree certificates are printed for money." Couldn't agree more.

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  5. A witty post! Couldn't agree more. Few teachers have inspired me; most of them have taught me what I should not be as a teacher.

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    1. I absolutely love the part where you said "most of them have taught me what I should not be as a teacher." I can relate to this so very much.

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