The Education Gate – Denial of Access

Education, especially the higher eduction, opens the door to advancement and progress within the society. A degree from an accredited institution is a license that allows entry into the upper echelons of the social cadre. It also bestows upon the holder an aura of a certain authority — When the credentials are cited, people, in general, give more credence to what the speaker says with ‘authority’. A higher academic degree, like a PhD, therefore, also serves to provides a powerful tool of control in the hands of the governing Authorities — What could be a better way to convince the public than lining up the experts, with PhDs in the field, validating and supporting the particular point of view?

People listen, they believe, and they follow — That is the mantra to rule the ‘civilized‘ societies. To that end, as the producer and incubator of experts, educational institutions play a very important role.

Ruling over a subjugated nation is a, relatively speaking, straight forward affair — bomb, destroy, kill, torture, install puppets – and, you are good to go. But, governing a people in the ‘home‘ country is, rather, an intricate process. The task become even more complicated when it serves to keep the people believing that their ‘opinion‘ counts, and they are a civilized society.

In order to keep the people’s opinion in line, it is necessary to have the experts under the leash – always ready to leap on command. Higher education is, of course, essential to augment the research and advancement in the field of science and technology, but the need to keep the populace under control trumps all the other considerations.

An authoritative government’s survival and continuity depends upon the compliance of the population. And, to have the public opinion aligned to its objectives, the system needs a continued supply of experts in almost every field – both for the continuation of the progress and for the validation and support of a particular point of view. The task of producing the experts with the ‘right attitude‘ and mental makeup is delegated to the institutions of higher education – The system cannot function properly, with the independent minded ‘experts’ emerging out of the academia and speaking their mind in public. It simply cannot be tolerated.

Therefore, it is very essential to monitor and control all the gates of the institutions of higher education – the doors of the prestigious institutions are guarded even more zealously – It doesn’t serve to have the ‘wrong‘ people coming out with the right credentials. Prevention is always better than the surgery – to remove the undesired growth.

Identification and Control System

Educational Institutions, in order to safeguard and maintain the right make-up of the academia, operate very much like the gated communities, with multiple checkpoints to augment the ‘security and control mechanism all around the campuses – It is absolutely essential to weed-out and remove the undesired elements who, somehow, do manage to escape the scrutiny at the point of entry.

To better manage the available resources, institutions of higher leaning are divided into various control zones – from the high sensitivity to low priority monitoring areas. While the entry into science, medicine and technical fields is strictly guarded, the undergrads, especially in disciplines of little use, are left virtually to their own devices. Ultimately, it is the graduate school entrance that is monitored more rigorously.

To identify, monitor, and control the entrants and candidates, the school administrators operate quite an elaborate and sophisticated system. But, in essence, the entire system is based on the simple classical model of the ‘inventory management and flow control’ – All items are properly classified and tagged. It is how, in practice, it works:

Every one, from professors to students, is classified and tagged. The handling and management of every person is in accordance with the classification of that person. The Tagging System is kept simple and straight forward. In general, there are Four Classes of identification Tags:

1. Tag Class One – Elite
2. Tag Class Two – Dog-cum-Bitch.
3. Tag Class Three – Brain and Talent
4. Tag Class Four – Marked for Elimination

A combination of these tag classifications is permitted – albeit, with some rules and restrictions:

▸ Tag Classes; One, Two, and Three cannot be associated with the Tag Class Four – Absolute NO.
▸ Tag Class One cannot be in conjunction with the Tag Class Two.
▸ For the Tag Class Three to be allowed to advance to the doctoral level, it has to either;

▸ And, for the Tag Class Two to be allowed to advance to the Doctoral level, it has to prove some predetermined level of brain activity, too.

It is a very simple, but elegant tagging system, and works perfect with some proper monitoring, behavior modifications, and training of the candidates. Once the proper identification and classification is done, and every one is tagged, all else that is needed is just the routine.

Tag Classification

Tag Class One:
As the name signifies, this class of Tags belong to the ‘Elite’ or the ‘VIP’ Class, and carry a hefty price tag. The bearers of these tags enjoy special privileges and rights – they are not required to study or complete any assignment, but the award of the desired degree is guaranteed. They live in lavish dormitories and enjoy gourmet food – many of the Class Three Tag bearers do the academic chore for the Class One Tag bearers to also also enjoy the ‘lamb chop’.
The bulk of these Tag bearers are found in the ‘Elite’ schools, like the Ivy Leagues.

Tag Class Two:
This is the classification that requires the most careful scrutiny of the entrants and candidates – the bulk of the loyal servants of the ‘governing elites’ come from this class. There are three major criteria that determine if one belongs to the Tag Class Two, or not:
1- Coming from an accepted and recognized dog/bitch family, or
2- Have been raised by a dysfunctional family, and
3- Have learned, or been trained to behave like a dog/bitch, or
4- Demonstrates indisputable inclinations to become a good dog/bitch with proper ‘training’.

Students with this Class of Tags are kept under constant observation to ensure that their dog/bitch traits are permanent, and they have no tendencies to go astray.

Tag Class Three:
This is, indeed, a rare tag. To bear this tag, one must have to have demonstrated extraordinary academic skills and talent. Students (and also the teachers) with this classification carry some special privileges – Anyhow, this is the class that is expected to carry the bulk of the ‘real’ research work. Their skills and talents are very much needed. But, even than, unless they show a willingness to ‘play along’ and follow the command, they are not allowed to stay in – they have to be ‘removed’.

The bearer of Class Three Tags, for the privileges afforded to them, are required to include the name of at least one of the Class One Tag bearer in all of their Research papers and publications – this provision is needed to bestow an aura of ‘credence’ to the elite class – Elites’ names need to remain in the front.

The Compliance Training

The bearers of the Class Two Tags have to go through a series of training and behavior modification sessions to ensure that the dog/bitch behavior has been firmly embedded into their nature – they are obedient dogs/bitches for ever.

The bearers of the Class Three Tags also have to pass a series of tests and training sessions – though less ‘invasive‘ and demanding than those designed for the Class Two tag bearers, to remain in ‘Good Standing‘.

Every candidate – with the exception of Class One Tag bearers, for the higher degree, especially for the PhD awards, is evaluated for compliance at three control check points; at the acceptance into the program, at the entrance into the ‘research’ work – after the completion of the required courses, and at the completion of the Thesis – the end of the research work.

At each of these check points, undesired candidates are removed from the system.

The Protocol of Confirmation

To reaffirm and reinforce the desired traits of servitude and ‘loyalty’ – under one pretext or the other, candidates are hold in a state of ‘limbo’ right at the end of their thesis work. A state of deep frustration and insecurity is infused into them. And, right when the disappointment and despair hits the crescendo, a ‘savior’ – who is to be the ‘mentor’ and ‘handler’ of the candidate from then on, ‘intercedes’ and rescues the poor soul. The handler, from there on, takes over the task of opening the doors for a very thankful dog/bitch, and assumes the charge of keeping the ‘faithful soul’ under control.

And, The Tag Class Four

These are the undesired ones – the ones coming either from the ‘suspected‘ rebellious lineage, or having independent minds of their own. They are marked for elimination. They are absolutely not permitted to move forward – their project reports and thesis are screwed in such a way that they have no other choice but to quit.

Likewise, the candidates who fail the final test of ‘dog/bitch worthiness‘ at any of the check points are also blocked from further progress. Such blocked candidates cannot pursue the dream of higher education at any respectable institute in the country – they are not allowed to carry the burden of being the ‘expert and authority‘.

Of course, the system provides for the ‘repentance‘ – especially in cases where either the extraordinary talent is recognized, or where there are some other elements that may be desirable to the governing system.

The choice is left with the candidate, either to bend over, or walk out of the ‘Education Gate’- with self-respect, dignity, and pride  –  There is always a choice to make.