This week's cover story on SHOUT is one of our many articles discussing the state of education in this country, something we deeply care about as a youth publication. For these articles, we talk to students and teachers of all backgrounds, but there's a disturbing trend that I've noticed while doing that. Everyone's scared to talk.

Students and teachers alike are scared to talk about their institution's shortcomings. Readers will notice in our cover story that many students quoted have requested their name to be hidden, for "safety and privacy". From my understanding, this request comes from the fear that authorities in most institutions do not take kindly to criticism from within. This is heartbreaking, because without criticism from within, how does any organisation even begin to improve? Especially for universities, where students are the lifeblood, is their feedback so unwelcome that they are scared to dish out honest opinions?

SHOUT goes out to many universities across the country, and we have prominent VCs and professors among our readership. Please let us know why this trend exists, or let your students know that it's okay to talk.

– Azmin Azran, Sub-editor, SHOUT