Why school children on reception line?

It is simply unacceptable on the part of the state minister of foreign affairs to have seen children of ten schools in Bagha upazila in Rajshahi standing for hours on the roadside to welcome him to the locality. We are dismayed to see the over-enthusiasm of party men who have no qualms about getting school children out of classes to become part of a welcoming committee and gates are erected on busy road intersections so that the local party apparatus may show their unequivocal support to the leader.
Last week we reacted to a similar display of utter lack of understanding on the part of local officials who arranged human chain comprising students of various institutions to welcome the land minister visiting his locality in Sirajganj. Needless to say, such detestable behaviour cannot be condoned and does little to uplift the image of the lawmaker or the party he or she represents. It is appalling to see young children being dragged to stand for hours on end braving the elements to wave their hands when they obviously have better things to do, i.e. study. The current practice is a throwback to the time when the country was under a dictatorship and it appears that such an abhorrent practice is back in vogue. We strongly urge the ministry of education to have this practice stopped so as not to satisfy the hubris of some public representatives.