We discuss this problem in three parts. One, the problems in an institution which is under control of a political party, two, fault with the faculty and third, the students.
We start in reverse order. How many Indian colleges make it to the list of the top 100 world class education institutionsIJ Very few! While there are many reasons for this, student politics is one of them. Are our children going to colleges for study purpose or build a political career by joining the two largest parties in India, the BJP (ABVP) or the Congress (NSUI) respectively or at times the CPI (M)/SFI, still a powerful union.
There is a battle between these three national parties at the cost of student’s education and future career. If the political career of the present generation over active students is so important let there be separate universities affiliated to those three or more parties where the future generation of Gandhis, Yadavs, Pattnaiks, Chaterrjees and Banerjees or Hussains or Tripathies will join a three year course of a degree in politics. With that degree, one can only become a politician nothing else. The institutions, faculty, law and order and the financial aspects will be the responsibilities of the concerned parties.
Those who are politically inclined can join these colleges and build their political aspirations and not to spoil the career of other science or arts students, who go to colleges and universities to study. And not to be pawn in the hands of different political parties, getting agitated over petty matters even up to firing bullet shots at teachers and opposition party students. let there be no union in any schools or colleges of India. The class monitor will put forth the grievances of students in the governing body meeting or to the principal. There are many colleges in Odisha where there are no college union elections. Students can go straight to principal or the governing body to vent out their problems. The entry of unauthorized students and persons and police can only be allowed after the permission of the Dean or the VC.
Our political parties have already destroyed our country and now are bent upon misguiding our youths with financial and judiciary powers. In most of the education institutions in the world, violence is discouraged and those indulging in it are immediately thrown out. That is not the case in India. If you indulge in violence on the goading of your political masters, you know they will save you when you are in trouble. This, in effect, gives a free licence to indulge in violence in Indian colleges and universities.
No system is working in India, be it traffic rules, college admission, examination system, discipline or judiciary. At drop of a hat a student goes and reports the matter to the police or Press and the political party makes an issue out of it to harass the elected Government. Most of the students dictate terms with the college and niversity regarding dates for examination, types of question papers, percentage of final examination pass outs, and hold the professors and teachers to ransom for political gains. lastly a lady student is set free to defame a teacher or the principal or the institute! Education institutes are becoming a ground of drug trafficking as the sun sets in. The one child family children have enough money for anything and everything, even a few girl students are falling prey to the nexus between student unions and politicians. Alcohol consumptions amongst student in different colleges of Odisha are alarmingly very high. Being a doctor by profession the author has come across students who come to hospitals with drug related problems from a cross sections of different colleges both professional and under graduate institutes!
This is getting worse day by day. Some of the parents are aware of these drug habits of their children and feel proud of it. Our education system has gone from bad to worse, be in class V or MBBS or BSc, everyone is securing 90 per cent + marks from the objective type of questions without knowing the basics. Except medical science, students of other branch seldom require the college syllabus knowledge in practical life. A student passing out BTech and doing MBA becomes a bank officer, a total wastage of a seat in an instituteIJ Sometimes medical graduate joins administrative service or police service, what wastage of time and resources. These points are never raised by the student union activists or they never come out with ideas how to ban the temple nuisance or the firecracker pollutions in the country. Whatever they do have a political mindset and motive.
The youth is a free bird and can choose what it wants to be. Students are supposed to be a clean slate and take whatever path they fancy. Sometimes this choice is not made even after the completion of the education process. It's a journey for a student to discover who he is and what the purpose of life is. The present scenario in our country is because for financial gains and political career students are going astray and have fallen in to the trap of Indian dirty political system. Some of the students may be disturbed by all the agitations around them but they are absolutely powerless. The silent majority of students who just want to focus on their education and career are hijacked by the political minority who call the shots.
Student politics in the 1970s was different. life was more slow-paced and leisurely. Students could still find time for both politics and studies. In 2016, that has radically changed. Academic pressure is more. The pressure of finding jobs can be crushing. Competition is tough in every field due to reservation system; it’s a cut throat world of 24/7 computer age. Students must be left free to just focus on their studies and careers with absolutely no other distractions.
Regarding the teachers they should be accountable for the punctuality, number of hours spent in library and feedback marks about their performance from students to the higher authorities. Tuition system should be totally banned in all system of education. Code of conduct for students and staff must be strictly followed. The number of closed holidays must be reduced by fifty per cent. Except annual day celebration there should not be any other functions or fanfare or beauty contests or dance competitions inside the college campus. NCC must be made compulsory for all students except for the physically handicapped ones.
It’s high time we revamped our education institutes first and then think of going to moon or running trains at 300 km speed.
(Dr Satpathy is an ex-Director SAIl, Rourkela. Inputs for this article are from Dr PB Tripathy. Ex-Joint Director UGC, Prof S Santanu FIE, ex- Principal, Simanta College, Mayurbhanj and several others)
