This absence is a profound psychological jolt

At the moment, there is a prevailing "feel-good" atmosphere surrounding our national goals and our future. A sense of complacency seems to have spread everywhere.

Yet there can hardly be a greater psychological jolt than the fact that 36 per cent of students are not sitting for an examination as important as the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC).

What does this large-scale absence from the examination actually mean? I do not think we should rush to answer that question. One thing, however, can be said immediately: it reflects the deplorable state of our overall education system. The absence of these students is a stark wake-up call. We must seek to understand what it signifies.

Why are they not taking the examination? Have students, along with their parents and guardians, lost confidence in our education system altogether? Or are there other reasons behind their decision? Even answering these questions immediately is problematic.

I believe what is missing here is serious, in-depth inquiry. Whether researchers, policymakers or commentators, none of us seems to be grasping the reality of the situation.

I believe that after the July change, neither the interim government nor, more broadly, the country's social elite and the new political leadership truly listened to students and young people.

The examination is taking place in July—the very month when, two years ago, the country witnessed a major mass uprising. It was students who played the leading role in that movement.

Until the very end, they remained deeply committed to bringing about meaningful change. Yet I believe that after the July change, neither the interim government nor, more broadly, the country's social elite and the new political leadership truly listened to students and young people.

To be frank, we did not even make a genuine effort to understand them—their pain, their aspirations, their uncertainty and their confusion. Neither the interim government, the current government nor those of us who regularly comment on these issues have made a credible effort to understand what they are experiencing.

Instead of listening, we have focused on proposing solutions. But we have not listened to the very people those solutions are meant for. When 36 per cent of students choose not to sit for an examination, does that indicate a growing feeling of ‘no confidence’ in the education system? Where will these young people go? These are the questions we should be asking.

At present, the attention of both the state and society is centred on three issues: the economy, geopolitics and education. Education is the vehicle through which the next generation advances.

Yet we are not giving it the attention it deserves, nor do we appear to feel any real urgency to do so. We may continue to set ambitious goals—a trillion-dollar economy and other grand visions—but they will remain little more than words on paper if we fail to engage this generation and cultivate a culture of listening to them with seriousness and empathy.

If they turn away from the state and from education, we will have no future. If their emotional commitment to nation-building weakens, social instability will only deepen. We are already beginning to witness signs of that.

The discussions on the economy and geopolitics should certainly continue. But education needs more than repetitive rhetoric. What we think is not, by itself, the solution. What is urgently needed is the willingness to listen—to teachers, to students and to their parents.

Many unfortunate incidents have occurred since the July uprising. Teachers have been humiliated and harassed. Mobs have emerged on educational campuses. Political appointments within educational institutions have continued much as before.

Many of these incidents have involved people who claim to represent the July movement. In many ways, this has diminished much of what that movement stood for. It may also have contributed to the growing disillusionment with education and the education system. We must now undertake an honest process of self-assessment. There is no alternative.

* Hossain Zillur Rahman is a former adviser to the caretaker government