Students are the most progressive and important section of the people of a country who have been assigned with the greater responsibility of building a healthy and prosperous future of a country with better provisions and opportunities.
They have really a very crucial role to play as they constitute the backbone of a nation. It is said that the real strength and wealth of a nation depend on the kind of students it creates. As the students are too full of vigour and vitality, if they want, they can create wonders by removing the various bottlenecks like injustice, inequality, oppression, exploitation and corruption from our country.
Also they can conduct various campaigns and awareness programmes and educate the illiterate people. They can uplift the poor and economically backward classes by rendering valuable social services.
Even they can show their efficiency in creating a political and social equilibrium all around.
But the question is, are the students of present day ethically sound to take these responsibilities on their shouldersij Are they confident as well as qualified to take the nation towards progressij It is high time the issue was analysed and pondered over.
Obviously, the strength of a student is determined by his/ her strong moral character. A student is always expected to be adorned with certain attributes of humanity and finer qualities of life like compassion, fellow-feeling, cooperation, tolerance, politeness, obedience, optimism, discipline and so on. The present education system is designed in such a way that the students are able to get all sorts of scope in almost every subject to develop and acquire certain moral values in their character. But unfortunately, in most of the cases, it has been observed that moral values are degrading and declining day by day among the students. Most of them are not behaving as per others’ expectations.
Gone are the days when Guru-Shishya relationship was based on mutual understanding, respect and responsibilities towards each other. Even without proper infrastructure and other facilities, the disciples were ready to receive knowledge from their Gurus and sacrifice everything as per their demand. The teaching –learning process was going on under the cool shades of trees without any problem. But today’s scenario is something different. Today, in spite of getting advanced laboratories, well furnished and well ventilated classrooms, smart boards, well- equipped library, well-designed infrastructure and other provisions, students hesitate to maintain a disciplined and pious life.
Indisciplinary activities like cheating parents and teachers, misbehaviour, malpractice, disobedience to the school system and teachers’ instructions, bunking from class, quarrelling and fighting with friends, showing arrogance and careless attitude, even manipulating the marks awarded by teachers on an answer script are some of the common phenomena found among the students. They no more like to be interrupted by anyone. They react violently if someone points out their mistakes or try to advise them too much. It is really a matter of disappointment that in spite of being warned repeatedly not to do a certain thing, they go on repeating the same without caring for any impact.
Who is responsible for this moral degradation— the students themselves or the teachers or the parents or the education system itself or the technological advancementij If we try to unearth the reasons, then perhaps all the above have a part to play. Today’s education system has become mark and result-oriented. Students’ main aim behind study is to score good marks in various examinations at any cost. Nobody conducts a test where their moral values are evaluated. So they are least concerned and bothered about culturing good habits and attributes. The parents, being busy in their own affairs, are somehow not able to provide them a suitable homely environment in which they can learn the secrets of living a harmonious and peaceful life. Excessive freedom that the children are enjoying at present is making them overconfident.
Teachers also sometimes lack appropriate friendly approach towards the students to instill in them the significance of basic values and purpose behind the sacred human life. Misuse of mobile phones and internet is also obstructing them from going towards a right track.
However, all cannot be blamed as morally degraded. Even at present, there are pupils who are really endowed with beautiful minds and generous hearts.
It is the responsibility of the teachers, after all, to create more number of disciplined students who will ultimately bring glory and prosperity to the society, State and nation, as a whole. let’s join our hands together and protect the students’ community from the disease of moral degradation. (The author is a senior faculty teaching English at DAV Public School, Chandrasekharpur)