When you read the back of IBA’s university pamphlet, interesting ideas such as ‘leaders of tomorrow’, ‘dynamic learning’, and other lies are spoon-fed to the eager minds. Especially vulnerable for moulding. Myself being one of them. Meticulously attending classes and proactively doing all the work I was expected to. Since then it has been most disappointing to see the same system I envisioned being a channel of growth for myself. Now, becoming a deteriorating system of education. In fact, I only see it now as the building blocks for corporate slavery.
Let’s Reflect
Let’s introduce the term. ‘Corporate slaves are easily identifiable by the vacant look in their eyes as they are always overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated’. Undoubtedly, to work up the ladder only the hard-working and street smart will get there. However, most of the time, the hard work goes unnoticed, taken for granted or simply a ‘trial’ period to see how quickly fresh graduates break under pressure.
Covid-19 messed up the semester for most of us. While some of us transitioned smoothly to the online learning, others did not. Moreover, the same privileges enjoyed by most of us did not extend to all of us. And that is where the danger of generalization gets in the way of compassion. You have uncommunicative, strict or even tone-deaf professors who refuse to acknowledge the voices of students. Ideally, when exam time comes around, study break is a necessity. This realization only dawned upon me a week in advance to our exams.
The strangest thing, I hadn’t even given this a thought. Our minds have been conditioned to accept the inconsistent, ad hoc planning from professors and the administration. Truly, that’s when I started drawing parallels between the treatment served to us at IBA and grooming for corporate slavery.
Groomed into Corporate Slaves
Case Study A: Girls Hostel. When unfair, sexist treatment was dished out to the residents, the management came running at the doors to soothe and silence the voices of dissent. The girls were pleased to see temporary progress. But then the improvements slowly abated. I saw the promises being backpedaled on, and the new hostel management stepped in to crack down the whip and tighten the shackles. Soon, the revolt died before it even started. And thus, with no management heeding our concerns, the voices quietened till only whispers were heard.
Case Study B: Fall Semester 2020. The deadlines set just a stone’s throw from an exam date is burdensome. The complaints were unanimous but only whispered in the classrooms or WhatsApp groups. The ‘progressive’ image of IBA has been shattered for me. When professors were given the authority to take exams in their own control, an opportunity for flexibility and creativity was in the horizons for students. And finally, a chance to advance to a more sophisticated exam technique was given as a challenge to our professors. However, we saw no initiative which encompassed learning and convenience for students. I saw a few taking the initiative to task; students were given options. Some kick-ass teachers even decided to hold no exam at all. To them, a single paper was not reflective of consistent effort throughout the semester.
Resistance in the way of progress
For nervous testers like myself, it was a sigh of relief. However, I could not feel the same towards my remaining courses, and neither could my batch-mates. The fear of cheating was over and above the fear of contracting corona for many professors. Myself being a hosteler, I was given no better alternative than to return and give a physical exam. The prospect of a mathematical viva was too nerve-wracking. If corona has taught us anything, I would say adaptability and compassion would be the main takeaways. But, it seems to me that the more progress tries to make way, the more resistance there is. And IBA has proven to be quite resistive to change, with the majority of our educators clinging onto outdated methods.
The callous attitude towards the grievances of students has moulded us into nodding puppets. We have lost the will to speak up, stand up to methods which hold no real ‘learning benefits’. Moreover, the ‘awam wesi bhool jati hei‘ (the public moves on fast) attitude helps us normalize events.
The real downturn of this is that it manifests in work-spaces, where any authority can choose take advantage. Tough bosses and long hours are normalized for you or I to get ahead. No thought goes into setting hours for maximum efficiency amongst employees. Or how calling after work hours is unprofessional. Instead, a nauseating concept of favouritism is brewed inside corporate slaves to pat yourself on the back for doing unpaid overtime hours. Nevertheless, in the end, nobody can be faulted for trying to get ahead in a dog eat dog world. I dread joining the ranks of machines in stuffy spaces and fawning sycophancy.
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