Quis custodies ipsos custodies?

Quis custodies ipsos custodies? …..or so goes the question.

I still remember my first days at Arizona State University vividly. The electrical engineering dept was teeming with bright young students from all over the world; well, that’s a lie… just Indian and Chinese students. Everyone was seated attentively in the class and taking notes of everything the professor uttered (he is revered to be one of the best in the field). At the end of the session he handed out the first assignment of the course and said something with a grin on his face. He said, American students work alone, Indians and Chinese students work together in groups to solve these assignments.

Being new to US and very naïve, I first thought he was complementing the Indian and Chinese students for their teamwork, but slowly as the “teamwork” unfolded, I realized what he meant. Many of the students were not even making an effort to solve the assignment. They were merely copying from their brighter and hardworking friends. The circle of trust had been clearly broken….because the man knew what was going on.

That set me thinking, what breeds dishonesty? Am I a dishonest person? What makes people thus? I really don’t like to blame other people for my mistakes, but I couldn’t help thinking as to how it was part of the system and how we are taught it is “OK” to do certain things simply because they are tolerated even though it is wrong. It is impregnated into us from when we are little kids.

This took me back a few years in time. I was in my 6^th grade and my school was participating in a literacy drive program, every student was asked to find one illiterate person from the street and make them literates! At the end of the term the students had to present their student in school. When the time came, all the students admitted to not having done the assignment, “No problem” said the school administration, just bring “someone”, maybe your housemaid, or your rickshaw puller or the roadside dhobi and ask them to pretend like they were illiterates a few weeks ago and highly enlightened beings now. In one master stroke, the school administration had the taught the students how to cheat and it was “OK” to do it.

I can quote several instances from my undergrad days where students got into trouble for something as simple as lack of attendance for a particular course which prevents them from appearing for the final exams and the college authorities simply told the students to “Deal” with the University and set it right before the finals. The students were taught how to cheat when they were young, and now how to bribe when they are older.

“It’s the system”, I cried. What is not being enforced is usually not being followed, and that is what makes certain things “OK” to do. So the question now is who guards the system? Parents? Schools? Colleges? Religious Institutions? Government? But wait a minute….didnt they tell me how to beat the system ? I was confused.

And so I raised the question……. Who guards the guardians ?