By M L Satyan
Bengaluru: One of the seven crimes about which Mahatma Gandhiji mentioned was Education without character. During the past one year we have been witnessing increasing cases of crimes committed by school and college students. Such crimes have been highlighted by various English and Vernacular newspapers. Some frightening headlines are mentioned below:
“A college girl stabbed to death by her boyfriend” (The boy was in love with a girl. When she stopped talking to him, he decided to kill her. He made an attempt to kill himself. This incident occurred on a busy main road in broad daylight).
“A school boy of class 8 killed his friend” (The boy had borrowed some money from his friend. When the friend compelled him to return the money, he got angry and hit his friend’s head with a stone inside the school campus).
“A high school girl killed her grandmother” (The girl used to pester her grandmother for money. One day the grandmother refused to give her money. So, the girl mixed poison in the food and gave it to her grandmother).
“A college student kidnapped one LKG child” (An engineering student kidnapped a small child and demanded 300,000 rupees from the child’s parents).
“A class 12 student eloped with a lady teacher” (The student was in love with his teacher, a married woman with a child. However, they both decided to elope and get married).
“3 students commit suicide due to NEET exam” (As per TN government’s record 19 students within 4 years have committed suicide for not getting selected or for the fear of not scoring good marks in National Eligibility cum Entrance Test).
These are some screaming headlines in the print and social media. But a vast majority of people do not take such news seriously. The above students may be literate but not educated. These students can be called “uneducated literates”.
Unfortunately, “Character Formation” is not a priority for most educational institutions. Instead of functioning as temples of wisdom, they have become sheer business centres. They just boast of achieving 100 per cent academic results. Can any educational institution claim that they have produced men and women of characters?
In the name of education, everything else happens except character building. As a result, schools/colleges/universities produce students who have no character. Can these character-less students do any good to their society and nation? This is a million-dollar question.
It is very sad that many student groups are used, rather misused, by politicians for their selfish agenda. The youth energy is used for destructive purposes and getting dissipated. The brainwashed students are slowly forced to become anti-social elements. They convert the temples of wisdom into typical war-zones. The parents send their children to schools, college and universities with a lot of hope. Unfortunately, their dreams get shattered. One wonders whether present-day education and educational centers are building or breaking the nation.
The purpose of education is not just literacy – i. e. making students learn how to read and write. Education goes beyond literacy. As we all know, the ultimate objective of education is “character building”. Education must shape the personalities of students and enable them to become good and responsible citizens, men and women of principles and convictions. Education must help students to know what is right and what is wrong.
The present-day education can very well be compared to a ‘banking method’. The teachers deposit quite a lot of information on various subjects in the minds of the students. From time-to-time, they withdraw the deposited information by conducting Tests/Examinations. After the withdrawal, very little information stays in the minds of the students. In other words, it is an ‘exam-oriented education’. This method cannot produce good and responsible citizens.
So, what we need is a ‘problem-solving method’ that helps in character-building. It contains a 3-H formula. The first H stands for Head and it means that education must increase the knowledge of students on various subjects. The second H stands for Heart and it means that education must sensitize the students and help them become aware of the socio-economic-political-religious issues in the society and country.
The students must be kept continuously updated about what is going on outside the four walls of the classroom or outside the school, college or university campus. The third H stands for Hands and it means that education must enable students to reach out to the needy and build a better society and nation. Hence, the purpose of education is two-pronged – i. e. character building and nation-building.
Some years ago, during a Value Education session in a high school, I asked class 8 and 9 students why they were studying. Many students replied – to become doctor, engineer, pilot, software engineer, scientist and teacher. One eighth grader stood up and said, “Sir, I want to do something good to my motherland.” Even today the way the student expressed his desire is quite fresh in my mind. How many students can say this today?
A gold medalist in an Agricultural University in Tamil Nadu refused attractive job offers with fat salaries from metropolitan cities. He went back to his remote village, worked hard and transformed the agricultural system there. He said in an interview to a magazine, “My degree certificates and gold medal should not make me lead a selfish life but help me to become a useful person in the society. I am implementing what I have studied in my own land and I am happy to see good results. The marginal farmers in my village are benefiting and it gives me fulfillment.”
Every student is like an “Akshayapatra.” They have immense talents and creativity. Education must enable them to bring out their inherent talents and develop them. These days most students are very vocal and speak quite vigorously, meaningfully and logically at various forums. Many dynamic and enlightened leaders need to emerge from the students. Hence, it is our responsibility to motivate and guide the students to become trendsetters, as the country needs them urgently. Shall we “Educate” the youth?