Government accountability
It is one of the most important pillars of a healthy democracy.
For millions of young people, success is not simply a matter of ambition – it is the result of years of relentless sacrifice. They spend their late teenage years studying while others celebrate festivals, attend family functions, travel with friends, or simply enjoy growing up. Parents invest their savings, restructure their lives, and silently carry the hope that their child’s hard work will be rewarded by a system that is fair.
But what happens when that trust is shaken?
When examination papers are leaked, when allegations of systemic failures become recurring headlines, when students are forced to relive months – or even years – of preparation because of circumstances beyond their control, and when those demanding answers find themselves caught in political battles instead of meaningful institutional reform, something far greater than an examination is at stake. It is not merely a question of marks or admissions. It is a question of public trust.
Yet what often follows is deeply revealing. Instead of asking how such failures occurred, why they continue to happen, and what reforms are necessary to prevent them, the conversation quickly shifts toward politics. Supporters rush to defend their preferred leaders. Opponents rush to assign blame. Television debates become louder than the voices of those who have actually suffered. The real issue gradually disappears beneath a battle of narratives.
This is one of the quiet dangers facing every democracy.
Governments are elected to serve citizens, not to be shielded from criticism. Every public office carries authority, but authority also carries responsibility. When institutions repeatedly fail – whether in public examinations, healthcare, infrastructure, law enforcement, or any other public system – citizens have every right to demand answers. Accountability is not an act of hostility. It is one of the foundations upon which democracy survives.
Unfortunately, many of us no longer judge public failures by the same standard. We judge them by who happens to be in power. If the government aligns with our political preferences, we instinctively search for excuses. If it belongs to the party we oppose, we demand resignations and sweeping reforms. The facts remain the same, but our judgment changes because our loyalty has shifted from principles to political identity.
Perhaps every citizen should occasionally ask themselves a simple but uncomfortable question:
Would I react the same way if a different political party were governing today?
If the answer is no, then it is worth asking whether our opinions are being shaped by evidence – or by allegiance.
This does not mean governments should be condemned for every failure, nor does it mean every allegation is automatically true. Democracies require fairness, not prejudice. But fairness also demands that questions be answered transparently, responsibilities be accepted where they exist, and institutions be strengthened rather than defended for the sake of political image. A government that welcomes scrutiny ultimately earns greater public trust than one that treats every question as an attack.
The greatest victims of institutional failure are rarely politicians. They are ordinary citizens. They are students whose futures depend on a fair examination process. They are parents who invest years of hope in systems they believe will reward merit. They are taxpayers who expect public institutions to function with integrity. While political debates come and go, it is these citizens who continue to bear the consequences.
History shows that democracies rarely decline because citizens ask too many questions. More often, they begin to weaken when citizens stop asking difficult questions of those they already support. Blind opposition is harmful, but blind loyalty can be equally dangerous. A healthy democracy does not require cheerleaders or perpetual critics. It requires thoughtful citizens whose commitment is not to a political party, but to truth, accountability, and the institutions that shape the lives of millions.
Because governments will change. Political parties will rise and fall.
But the strength of a nation will always depend on whether its citizens have the courage to ask difficult questions – even when the answers may be uncomfortable.
The day we stop questioning those in power is not the day democracy becomes stronger.
It is the day democracy quietly begins to lose.