Merit, Anyone?

I talk about my son a lot in my blogs. Its true, I love him a lot. He was 3 years old when his parents divorced. He has spent the last 3 years trying to grapple with his fragmented life. Iam always amazed by his goodness and good cheer despite the abnormal lifestyle he has. In the difficult life that I have, i and his father managed to prepare him for the Aitchison test. On weekends i would make him study 5 to 6 hours at a stretch. he would never rebel, or get bored or tired, but would cheerfully keep his head to the grind. Only after his test did it strike me that i had two very good friends on the Aitchison board and I approached both of them to put in a good word for my child. Both said , and these were important people, that we have no say. The principal doesnt listen to us. One of them said, "why didnt you tell me before the test?" I had never thought of it. Despite my good start in life, I consider myself a self made person. I wanted my child to take the first step on his own atleast. Anyway, I left it to God. and then the result came and he made it. We took him for the interview, his cheerful naughty self, and after a short interview, he was given the admission letter. It is true that both my sons parents are bureaucrats. But thats all we were. we did not use any approach. He was admitted only because he was good enough. When i came out, I was in tears. I thought, this is the first positive thing that has happened to this little boy since we divorced in 2011. I felt a little of the burden of guilt i carry lifting away from me, the guilt I feel for letting him down in the process of being true to myself. Last week he was getting his uniform from the school and had stars in his eyes. I was really impressed. I said to one of my firends, Punjab has finally ensured merit across the board. Now Aitchison is at par with Danish schools. Anybody can go there on the basis of hard work, not paternity. No "ashrafia" if you know what i mean.Punjab has done the impossible. I have only recounted my personal experience. I have no idea what happened in the board meeting that removed the principal. I met him only once. He said to me that he wasnt sure he would be able to survive in Aitchison. I only tried to write how much it can matter to a child and his parents if their child gets what he deserves for once, and they do not have to do any wrong to attain it for him. I have questions, so many. What are we doing to this society. What values are we bequeathing to our children. The children of the influential class has so many chances to get ahead in life when they dont deserve to. Is even this level being denied to people who have nobody to approach, or want their children to make it on their own? How will we ever create a just society if even a six year old learns that even if he is good, he will not get to the best place, but will have recourse only to cheap "itwar bazaar"schools, which he is supposed to be content with, while they cannot aspire to "shop" at high end schools. WHat matters is not what what you are inside, what only matters is whose child you are, how much money you have. Is this the legacy we want to leave behind? Is this the truth behind merit? Then why should anybody study, why dont we all just buy degrees and turn our institutions into Axact ? Why shouldnt the best minds leave this country, when they know that nobody cares for work, hard work, sense of responsibility and values? Values is for suckers. Then why shouldnt our youth not want to do anything apart from indulge in romance and buy phones? I see this listlessness in the workforce, the older students, the youth everywhere. Whats the point of kicking open doors for effect ? The legacy of compromise is reflected in the attitude of the Lahore traders who just are not used to paying taxes or having their incomes documented, and are not about to do it now. They want to use "shutter power" and want to punish "their government" . Because this government has never asked them to pay taxes before. They are aghast at this demand. Me, pay tax? the fundamental question of the privileged class in Pakistan. A lifetime of compromise has its benefits. I know what the fruits are. A just society is not one of the fruits. We have to stop the buck somewhere.