Compulsory pass to be scrapped; kids in quandary
Students committing suicide is even more gory than the farmers ending their lives in this country. There would be some report or the other about some student ending his or her life somewhere in the state starting from March to June every year. This happens like series of events. Education today is another version of child labour. While young children work to earn money in factories and other places, other children work to bring marks for their parents’ satisfaction.
Those who score less marks come under assumption that their entire life is over. They face criticism by their parents, humiliation by the society and insults by many others. All this destroys their confidence and will power. Those kids who are yet to face life, surrender to death. Just to ensure children remain safe and protected from this phase, kids from seventh and eighth standard were kept away from this difficult test. This was inevitable for many reasons. Primary and high school education is just a phase to identify the talent present in children.
To deny an opportunity for the students to go further in studies by limiting the education to scoring marks, is to trample a bud before it blooms. This was one of the major factors for the increasing number of school drop outs in the past. Education experts feel children learn better and with great interest when they do not experience the pressure of having to score marks. A child can grow up to be anything. A painter, a singer or a writer, just about anything. All this is a part of the education, say the experts. Just because a student cannot excel in a topic, he or she cannot be declared dumb or unfit for further education. They may have immense opportunities to achieve something in a field of their choice or interest. To stop him from going further, may actually rob all the opportunities the child has to do well elsewhere. Unfortunately, the new year has begun on a negative note for children of the nation. The right to education act 2009 had mentioned students should not be failed from class one to eighth under any circumstances and a suggestion to amend this bill to remove the ‘compulsory pass’ clause was passed in the parliament on January 3.
This decision by the parliament is somewhat a failure of the government which would be borne by the hapless students. Dilapidated buildings for schools, toilets that are absent, lack of school playing grounds, insufficiently educated teachers lacking empathy, the school administration that listens to government officials more than the headmaster, uniform syllabus that does not encourage learning and exam methods and systems that test the perseverance of young children, finally take a toll on them. Instead of fixing this, the government seems to think compulsory pass is leading to collapse of education standards among children.
Central government has said this amendment is supported by the states that have the interest if children’s education in mind. States were asked about their stance on this topic in 2015. Some states had said they would like to retain compulsory pass and even gave reasons as to why they’d prefer that since they had the interest of children’s future in mind. Some other states had given suggestions that had completely ignored the challenges of present.
Some states wanted to do away with the compulsory pass, while some remained neutral. To penalize kids and force them to learn is a violation of their rights, instead of modifying pedagogy and methods of teaching. The change has to happen in teaching methods, and not in scrapping compulsory pass. Education is not passing on information or helping them score marks. It is something that allows their personality to bloom and waters the talents they may have within them. This is the responsibility of government, teachers and educational institutions. Since the stakeholders have failed in imparting their duties, they have decided to scrap compulsory pass and penalize students for no fault of theirs. Making students sit in the same class for years never yields good results. This has been shown by experiments worldwide. This has more negative effects than positive. Yet, the government is instituting that the problem with skills has arisen due to compulsory pass bill in primary classes.
Children will get into a fix with this decision of the government. While kids are already taking drastic steps as ending lives unable to withstand the PUC and SSLC exam performance pressures, this may affect 7th std kids too in the future. Changes don’t assure improvement. The government should spare a thought about how this can help better future of children too. Government has to retreat from the proposed amendment for compulsory pass order.
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Iran Shocks World, Hits F-35
America's most advanced fighter jet, the F-35, was never hit in combat — not once, in its entire history. Countries spend over ₹900 crore to buy just one of these aircraft. The whole world believed this plane was untouchable. Then, on March 19, something happened over Iranian skies that shocked military experts across the globe.
Iran hit it. And nobody saw it coming.
America Was Too Confident — That Was the Problem
Before understanding how this happened, you need to understand what America believed going into this. The US had been bombing Iran since February 28. After roughly 20 days of heavy strikes, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Iran's air defences were completely destroyed — finished, flattened, gone.
US President Donald Trump even said proudly, "We can fly wherever we want, and no one is even firing at us."
Based on this confidence, America flew its prized F-35 deep into the heart of central Iran. That alone tells you how sure they were. You don't send your most expensive jet into enemy territory unless you believe there is zero danger.
But Iran, a country under heavy international sanctions, still had something left. And it used that something extremely well.
So How Did Iran Actually Hit a Stealth Jet?
Here is where it gets interesting for regular people to understand.
We have all heard the word "stealth" — it sounds like the plane is completely invisible. But India Today explained that stealth only means it is hard to detect by radar. Hard — not impossible. It does not mean the aircraft is totally invisible.
Think of it this way. Even if you cannot see someone in a dark room, you can still feel their body heat if they stand close enough. That is almost exactly what happened here.
The F-35's engines produce enormous heat. Iran's weapon likely used an infrared sensor — basically a heat-seeking system — to detect that heat, lock onto it, and follow the jet. No radar needed. The F-35's biggest advantage, its radar-invisibility, simply did not matter.
The weapon Iran likely used was the 358 missile — also called SA-67 — which is a loitering munition. Think of it as a slow, intelligent drone that flies around patiently waiting, scanning the sky for heat signals from aircraft engines. Once it finds one, it chases it down. Iran has used this exact weapon before against American MQ-9 Reaper drones — and since this war started, America has already lost more than 12 of those drones.
This Has Happened Before — In 1999
This is not the first time America's "invisible" aircraft was brought down by a smarter enemy.
In 1999, during NATO's bombing campaign over Serbia, the US flew its F-117 Nighthawk — which was then considered the world's most advanced stealth aircraft. Serbian forces shot it down using an old Soviet missile system from the 1960s. Not with new technology — with clever thinking. They briefly switched on their radar, caught the jet at the right moment when its stealth was less effective, and fired.
The lesson both then and now is the same — no aircraft is completely invincible. Smart tactics can beat expensive technology.
Why This Changes Everything in the Iran War
Here is the bigger picture that really matters.
America and Israel had told the world that Iran's air defences were basically dead. Based on that, they sent massive B-1 and B-2 bombers — aircraft that are normally used only when a country is 100% sure it controls the enemy's sky. That is a huge military risk to take.
But if an F-35 — the most advanced aircraft in the sky — can still be hit, then Iran's defences are clearly not dead. Some pieces are still very much alive and working.
This means the US and Israel may now be forced to completely rethink their war plan. Their jets may need to fly higher, use longer-range weapons, and spend far more time and money finding where Iran's remaining defence systems are hiding underground.
Around 15 countries use the F-35 today. Even India was offered this jet by Trump during PM Modi's White House visit — though India has not shown interest so far.
Geopolitical expert Adam summed it up simply — a heavily sanctioned country just tracked, chased, and hit the world's most expensive stealth jet. That is not a small thing.
Sometimes, one moment changes everything.
(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany.)
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or position of the publication, its editors, or its management. The publication is not responsible for the accuracy of any information, statements, or opinions presented in this piece.
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