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| Kathmandu Thursday March 28, 2002 Chaitra 15, 2058. |
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Academic thugs
It was both amusing and disturbing to read
Shikhar Shrestha’s article titled "Degree boom and fake certificates" dated
March 13, 2002 on the fake certificate racketeering in Nepal.
You do see, meet so called ‘doctor
sahebs’ all over the places – in government, politics, parliament, including in
businesses and NGOs, busy making hay while the sun shines.
One cannot but helplessly watch as these
intellectual vagabonds begin to unleash their verbal garbage during seminar openings and
meetings. With a doubtful or outright faked PhD name tag, and after having propelled
themselves onto lucrative positions through kind courtesy of say, a father-in-law in
politics, or through boot licking to some political crooks, these intellectual thugs are
giving themselves a great time in Nepal.
These academic thugs go scot-free also because
we have been complacent, uncomplaining or even forgiving. A government bureaucrat quickly
connived to confer himself a ‘doctor saheb’ name tag overnight before moving on
to snatch an important position in finance. A doubtful PhD upstart gets to chair
an important commission, a task
force while those with years of demonstrated competence are left to rot. You burst out
laughing if you looked at their so called doctoral thesis and how they are showing
themselves off as experts in public life.
The country without delay needs putting a stop
to this intellectual hooliganism, this mass cheating in public life. Some good things are
already happening. Nepalese media, getting strong and powerful every day, are coming hard
on any kind of lapses in public conduct. I relish the Nepalese media hounding out anyone
caught wrong doing in all walks of public life. We should not leave it at this. I for one
would love to watch these thugs being given public whipping out in the open in Tundikhel!
Ambar Bir Rai
Ward 7, Dhankuta |
