It was an English "literature" class (or at least that bit was) - so suggesting & discussing various possible interpretations of the story was part of the objectives.

Consider instead Orwell as the tiny, educated, supposedly wise ruling elite. (Of the British Empire, in this case. But the point is more general.) He knows the "right" thing to do here...but under the perceived weight of at-the-moment public expectation, and with a convenient excuse at hand, he instead does the stupid, destructive thing instead. Incompetently.