Cukup lama aku menanti penghantaran tugasan yang telah lama tamat tempoh penghantarannya. Aku bertanya khabar menggunakan Telegram. Tidak berjawab. Mesej aku kepadanya: “How are you? Are you alright? Do you have any problem to complete the assignment?”
Hari menjadi minggu. Tinggal seminggu lagi untuk cukup sebulan. Ada orang berkata “Kita kena menjaga kebajikan pelajar. Kita kena memberikan sebanyak mungkin peluang kepada pelajar. Mereka tertekan dengan keadaan semasa…. yada yada yada“.
Terngiang suara mentor aku di telinga “Why are you so stupid to wait for the assignment? Do you have to beg them to submit their assignment? You are an idiot. Apparently, having a PhD seems does not make you any wiser. It is so simple. If those students do not care about their study, why should you care? Just give the marks they deserve. After all, they fail because they are predestined to fail. You do not fail them. They fail based on their merits and of course, with Allah’s will.”
Selepas itu, terngiang suara mentor lain “Hadijah, have you performed solat Taubat? Have you asked for Allah’ to guide you when you want to start marking? Have you looked at all assignments again? Do you miss anything that worth to be given a mark or two?
Datang balik suara mentor pertama “If you still wonder why I call you stupid, idiot and ignoramus, it is plain to see that because you are stupid, idiot and ignoramus to be soft-hearted when you should not be. After all, you should educate yourself before you educate others”
Aku cuba mendapatkan pendapat rakan yang lebih berpengalaman. Tapi satu mesej dari seorang rakan membuat aku nekad untuk berhenti mengharap, “Dah la Dr Dijah. Ignore the students. They ignore you. Just move on. Done too much help already“
Dengan itu, aku terus menyiapkan laporan dan mengisi markah dalam sistem tanpa menunggu lagi pelajar yang tidak menghantar tugasannya.