Too late - or not?

4 months. F-O-U-R long months. And a free week or two added on.

That's how long a dental college identified on Google Maps as one tiny speck towards the northern part of India, staunchly refuses to pay salaries to its faculty.

Yet, no one protests. No one refuses to come to work. No one stops doing what they are supposed to do in exchange for their salary.

Divided we stand. United we fall. The fear of not finding another job, another college to join - that, understandably, is what terrifies most of the faculty in most dental colleges in India. As also in this aforementioned dental college. Where a word of protest from even one member of the faculty would entail replacement of the said faculty member with another, more submissive and pliant, person. At a lesser salary too.

Win-win situation for the college. For the management. And the Principal. The puppet Principal, who needs to retain that seat of power, knowing well that replacement puppet candidates for the Principal's post are equally easily available. So it is necessary to tell the faculty to forget about that unpaid salary, and harshly ask them to get back to work!

Talking of work... what work? The students in this college, like in many others, are more interested in securing their degrees at the end of the prescribed number of years of faux study. Knowledge does not matter. Skill does not matter either.

Entertainment matters. Keep the students happy. Keep them entertained. Let them play. Games. All kinds of games. Physical games. Mind games.

Concentrating on studies and the pressure of examinations causes mental depression. Suicidal tendencies.

College managements cannot take that risk. The risk of concerned parents of depressed & oppressed students pointing fingers at them, blaming them for their children's woes. That is too much of a risk.

All play and no work, and a street-smart dentist becomes Jack.

There is a flood of 'qualified' unskilled dentists and dental specialists floating around everywhere in this country, applying to dental colleges and desperately looking for work. Any kind of work. At any salary. Even without a salary. Without protest.

There may still be time to make amends. Or maybe not. Is it too late - or not?