Letters to The EDITOR: Decline in quality of editorials

Decline in quality of editorials

I write with genuine concern regarding the editorial standards being adopted in your publication.

A significant number of opinion pieces published in the editorial section merely restate facts already available in the public domain. They are descriptive rather than analytical, offering little by way of original insight, empirical evidence, or rigorous reasoning. Such articles may inform, but they rarely enrich public discourse.

An editorial page should aspire to a higher standard. It ought to privilege evidence-based analysis supported by credible data, statutory or policy context, comparative perspectives, and well-reasoned conclusions. In an era where factual information is readily accessible, the distinguishing value of a newspaper lies not in repeating what is already known, but in explaining why it matters.

It was therefore disappointing that my analytical article, subsequently published by another media house, was declined by your editorial team. The editorial received encouraging appreciation from members of the judiciary, civil servants, and other discerning readers, suggesting that there remains a genuine appetite for substantive, research-driven commentary.

I respectfully urge The Sentinel to encourage analytical editorials that advance informed public debate instead of publishing straightforward narratives that add little beyond what is already available at the click of a button.

Further, I request you to add a topic-based interest and ask a question every Sunday, whereby the answers from readers, along with their passport-sized photographs, should be published.

Shahin Yusuf

Guwahati

Football legends retire

Today football appears to be poorer with the retirement of the two legends, Neymar Jr and Cristiano Ronaldo, aged 34 and 41, respectively. Both have announced their retirements following their teams' exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup. As Brazil's all-time leading scorer, Neymar has ended a remarkable 16-year international career. He represented his country at four World Cups and two Olympic Games, winning silver in 2012 and gold on home soil in 2016. Ronaldo's achievements are equally extraordinary. He rewrote countless records, including becoming the first player to score in six FIFA World Cup tournaments. Despite criticism and trolling, his dreams to win the World Cup kept him going even at the age of 41. Sports remind us that even the greatest icons cannot outrun time. Legends may retire, but their legacy will keep motivating others, even though the World Cup trophy eluded them for the last time. We wish both of them a long and healthy retirement life.

Iqbal Saikia,

Guwahati

Save the earth

From the days of cavemen to the modern technological age, human knowledge has continued to grow every day. Man gathered information and converted it into items that supported his living. When man felt cold, he discovered clothes. When rains troubled him, he made houses. Diseases led him to the world of medicines. Human beings kept on inventing anything and everything without bothering about the side effects. From a state of ignorance, knowledge has advanced humanity to an era where everything occurs at the click of a button. At the same time, the destruction that scientific inventions have caused to Mother Earth is unprecedented. When humans began driving cars and buses using petrol and diesel, the environment never returned to its original state. Fuels kept on burning, and air quality deteriorated every day. People now buy air purifiers to inhale fresh air. With roads and rail connectivity, goods began to travel from one country to another. And to meet the burgeoning human demands, factories were set up, which polluted the air, water and soil through their wastes. Having not done with all other types of pollutants, man discovered plastic, which has become an integral part of almost everything today. From mobile phones to water bottles, nothing is without plastic. The result is that sea beaches are littered and drains are choked with plastics. And a bitter truth is that the first plastic bottle thrown on this earth may still exist, if not burnt. One cannot understand what compelled the scientists to make such non-decomposable materials when other alternatives could have been easily found out. Today plastic waste is the greatest menace to this planet.

Population bursts have led to rapid urbanisation. From hills to forest, man has encroached everywhere and expanded the human habitat. And the ramifications are reduced agricultural lands, landslides and human-animal conflicts. Today, when green areas have depleted drastically due to human activities, we are planting trees that will provide shades twenty years later. There are examples galore which prove how humans have wrecked the environment in every possible way. Now is the time to transition from symbolism to action. Unless we stop throwing garbage and plastics near the roadside and in the drains, cities will soon turn into rotten boxes. Preserving the farming land should become a state priority.  Use of trains and buses for local journeys should be emphasized where possible. It will save money and prevent unnecessary fuel burning. Citizens and authorities should remain vigilant about illegal construction to preserve more physical spaces.  Single-use polyethylene should be banned immediately. These are small steps but can bring great differences.   Unless we prioritize the environment more than our habits and greed, we will be pushing the earth towards a diabolic end every day.

Kabir Ahmed Saikia

Rajabari, Jorhat

Teacher shortage: A wake-up call

A school without enough teachers is like a ship without a captain-bound to lose its way. The recent revelation that 7,948 government schools in Assam have yet to achieve the prescribed 30:1 pupil-teacher ratio, while 5,128 schools continue to function without separate classrooms, should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers.

The government's claim that multi-grade teaching does not affect learning is unfounded. Having two teachers manage five different classes simultaneously puts immense pressure on both the teachers and the students. Such arrangements dilute classroom instruction and hinder the ability to maximise each child's potential, rather than enhancing educational standards. The persistent shortage is particularly affecting rural, tea garden, and char areas.

If Assam truly wants to build a skilled and knowledgeable generation, the government must step up recruitment, accelerate infrastructure development, and fill long-pending vacancies without further delay. Promises alone cannot suffice; only concrete action can. Education is the bedrock of progress, and neglecting it today will only store up bigger challenges for tomorrow. It is time to pull up our socks, bridge the gap between policy and practice, and put every child on the path to a brighter future.

Dipen Gogoi,

Teok, Jorhat

Selections from one APSC exam centre

APSC deserves accolades for the smooth conduction of APSC CCE 2025. Like every year, APSC's conduct of the prelims exam is impeccable and flawless, and even the most cynical ones would bow in appreciation. However, APSC's handling of the Mains exam is always looked upon with a degree of suspicion and casts some aspersions on its efficiency, if not the integrity, of the process. In APSC CCE 2023, the final Mains marks breakdown was shrouded in secrecy, whereas in 2024 the cutoffs went shockingly high. An insightful datum we find from APSC 2024 is that out of 288, 164 successful candidates have roll numbers starting with "44", which corresponds to one particular exam centre. Out of these roll numbers with "4408" onwards, i.e., the lower 800 numbers in the Mains appearing list released by APSC, account for around 100 selections. Candidates know for a fact that the Mains venue is allotted serially on the basis of roll number, and all these roll number-bearing candidates were seated in one venue only. This data point shows how one venue and one centre dominated the entire merit list for the APSC CCE 2024. While data and statistics can be deceptive, the perception of aspirants regarding the Mains exam process is also abysmal. Many toppers failed to live up to their rank and stature, as seen in mock interviews and media interactions. This is not intended to evoke any conspiracy theory or malign the integrity of the exam, but request an introspection from the honourable commission!

Concerned APSC aspirants

(mukutmajumdar400@gmail.com)