Should Bad Boys be Expelled from School?

There is little doubt that the discipline of students is appalling, particularly in Malé schools. According to a student source who wants to remain anonymous, his classmates in a famous school in the capital often take mineral water bottles filled with Vodka for drinking and selling during the interval. Smoking and selling cigarettes and supari are also widespread.

Many parents believe the problem is at least partially due to the negative influence of a few wayward students, and these 'bad apples' should be removed to save the remaining apples in the barrel. However, Education Ministry and educationalists have steadfastly refused to expel any students except in very rare instances. This is a protracted controversy with strong arguments on both sides.

A typical argument could go like this, "As a young person in the mid twenties and a teacher, I feel that the influence of any drug on pupil learning and behavior is bound to be detrimental and if left unpunished then others will follow suit."

A counter argument could go, "Expelling pupils leads to social exclusion and increases the likelihood of crime becoming a way of life, rather than just teenage misdemeanor."

And … "I would go further; they should be sent to borstal. Our attitudes to bad behavior have been far too tolerant. This would be quite a lenient sentence to many of us and a real deterrent. Let's restore some modicum of law and order rather than the liberal instigated persecution of decent ordinary people. Society must have deterrents to protect the decent law abiding majority."

… "Of course children should be expelled from school if they are known to have drugs. They are a bad influence on other children and parents have a right to know that their child will be protected from drugs, the same as they should be protected from guns or knives. The over-riding factor is very clear, drugs ruin lives. I believe that the message of teachers/heads should be explicitly clear, bring drugs into my school and you're out!"

With increasing juvenile violence in Malé streets, discipline is no longer a mere school issue. It is rather a national issue. The question is, will expelling the bad students from school improve school discipline or will it merely lead to the expelled students becoming street thugs?

Are Video Gamers more Violent?

A salesgirl in a typical CD shop in Male says they sell on average about 30 video game CDs per day. There could be about 100 such shops in Male. Just start multiplying and the results would be mindboggling: 3000 games sold per day, 90,000 in a month and 1,080,000 in a year.

Video games are popular in Male because of several reasons. One, there is no space in the island for outdoor games for all. Two, parents are scared of sending children to outdoor activities because of the drug menace. Three, some forms of entertainment like music and dance are frowned upon by conservatives. Four, many parents think video games are harmless entertainment for kids.

But are video games really harmless?

A new study employing state-of-the-art brain-scanning technology says that the answer may be no. Researchers say that brain scans of kids who played a violent video game showed an increase in emotional arousal – and a corresponding decrease of activity in brain areas involved in self-control, inhibition and attention.

This brings us to the question: is there a link between the violence we see today on Male streets and video games like, "Call of Duty," and "Medal of Honor: Frontline?" While researchers have seen negative effects in the brains of kids who play these games, such results cannot be extrapolated to the Male situation without doing specific research here.

What about non violent games? Could there be a link between non-violent but high-octane games like "Need for Speed: Underground" and "Gran Turismo?" and the increasing spate of accidents on Male streets and Addu Link Road? Again country specific research is needed to establish such a link.

For now, based on available scientific evidence, parents should be aware of the relationship between violent video-game playing and brain function.

A Mass Transport System Impossible in Male?

In Male it is now near impossible to drive a car and park it anywhere near one’s destination. Taxis are never available when one needs them. And things are getting worse every day. If the present trend continues there will soon be no space on the roads even to ride a motorcycle. In most western cities road congestion has been controlled by establishing mass transport systems like trams, buses and subways. Is it too late for Male to develop at least a bus service?

From the hyper congestion on Male streets one could be excused if one believes a bus service is impossible. But is there an alternative way of reducing the congestion? Admittedly the situation appears Catch -22 like: One needs bus services to reduce road congestion, while bus services are impossible without first reducing the congestion. Without a solution for the problem, we will be doomed to watch by as increasing traffic slowly strangles life on the island.

As of now, some outer roads still offer scope for running buses. For example the U shaped segment starting from West Park through Ameenee Magu to Hulhumale Ferry terminal. This route could offer reasonable access to at least a third of the Male population including students and ferry passengers. Depending on the response to the service there are some other wide roads too that could be opened up for bus services.

It is really difficult to predict the success of a mass transport system in a place like Male. But the issue is too serious to be given up as impossible, without even trying.

Theemuge as City Hall?

Ever since President Nasheed announced he will not occupy Presidential Palace Theemuge, people are wondering what to do with the house. This question is pertinent because Theemuge is arguably the finest building in Male. It was constructed at phenomenal cost to the exchequer (estimates vary from $ 30 million to $ 60 million) and has immense historical value. Considering all this, it could serve very well as Male's City Hall

A city hall or town hall is the chief administrative building of a city or town's administration and usually houses the city or town council, its associated departments and their employees. It is also usually the base of the city, town, borough, or county mayor.

Under the new Constitution, Maldives will have a system of local government by mid 2009. Under the system Male is likely to have an elected Municipal Council headed by a Mayor. Such a prestigious body will need a correspondingly prestigious address.

If one looks around the world, city halls serve as symbols of local government, and usually have distinctive architecture. They also frequently occupy historically significant buildings. This description fits Theemuge very well.

Theemuge started its life as 'Athiree Maafannuge' in the 2^nd quarter of the 20^th Century. It was built by Abdul Majeed Rannabandeyri Kilegefaanu as a home for his second son Hassan Fareed. After Fareed's death during World War II, Abdul Majeed donated the house to the Government. During the regimes of Nasir and Maumoon, the house served at different times as presidential residence as well as prime ministerial residence. It also housed ATA (the fore-runner of STO). Finally, in the early 1990s, it was rebuilt and renamed as Theemuge.

In addition to housing the municipal offices, Theemuge could also host a cultural center that showcases Male as the historic capital of the Maldives.

[Note: This article simply expresses the author's personal opinion as a citizen of Male.]