Anir's News Service

Random News and trivia about me. Just as a random shoutbox. I/O- Impressions/Opinion (On relevant/irrelevant issues) UP-Update -General life update. LC-Life chronicle. Probably random trivia about my life from the past. I do hope I'm not lazy in updating it.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Kallege!

College glorious college - the one that movies promise are the best days of your life. The days that you'll remember forever. Promises of bikes, mini-skirts, brotherhood, craziness and, if there's time, education.  I too, had great expectations from college life and today, 4 years after passing out of my UG college, fondly look back at those days. Learnt a lot, forgot even more but ultimately emerged a stronger, better human being. I have been exceptionally fortunate that life has consistently favoured me and made things go my way,

I have always had a fondness for youth and over the years have decided to dedicate my life to the full blossoming of human potential in youth today.

The bloody problem is, while the concept of colleges is great, the reality does not live up to the promise of what colleges can truly aspire to be. A place where minds are set free and encouraged towards a higher ideal  (And having a heck of a lot of fun on the way) is ideally the role of a college.

And what do we see today?

A mindless hankering for marks (Which anyway the world outside does not care about- when was the last time someone asked you about your marks?), lecturers who dont identify with youth and care only about finishing their syllabus and running away, management which does not look students as human beings but as walking ATMs waiting to be squeezed, and parents driven by societal obligations instead of a sense of well-being of the wards.

Never has this situation been more starkly displayed than at the most prestigious of Indian institutions- the so called crown jewel of the education system - IIT.

I have had the oppourtunity to interact with many, many IITians and while there are many who are very inspiring, its startling how little care the greater majority of students, who suffer from a lack of confidence, social skills, any real goal in life (besides the next batch of exams) are given.

Its now become so bad, that this year has seen seven suicides in IIT Madras alone. 7 of the brightest minds in India decided to extinguish themselves. And what was most appalling was the response of the dean of students. This gentleman remarked that 'IIT has over a thousand students - 7 deaths are statistically insignificant". I'm sure he would think differently if it were someone related to him.

The real problem, as I see it, is twofold. One is stress - only a stressed out person can commit suicide and only a stressful individual would make  an irresponsible, uncaring statement like the one above.

The other problem is a lack of belongingness - and this is a side effect of stress. When an individual does feel oneness with other people can such things happen.

The ridiculous emphasis on marks and academic excellence is partly responsible for the unfortunate state of affairs. And this has been taken to extremes in IIT Madras. I was surprised to learn that for the sake of encouraging competition, fostering concentration and one-minded focus in the minds of the students, each student has his/her own room. This nips social interaction in the bud and makes students mechanical, lonely, more prone to homesickness and leads to a melancholy atmosphere. Human beings by nature are social creaturesand our so called modern society seems to have very proudly turned their back on nature. My visit to the IIT hostel was punctuated not by youthful laughter, but a deafening silence.

The need of the hour is a holistic education  - of not just youth but of society at large. Parents need to realize that marks dont make a man. Lecturers need to be the bigger men and take an interest in wards, educational institutions need to be more interested in fostering the student community towards growth instead of monetizing everything. And Students need to realise the extent of their responsibility.

And I'm glad I'm doing something about it.

JGD!

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