Today the 3rd January, 2012 hardly the second working day of this Calendar Year, students of Higher Education ( mostly first generation learners) gathered and were whistling, howling and went around disrupting classes at my University campus. They forced students to come out of class rooms to join the belligerent crowd fuelled by mob dynamism. Reason: Student’s protest – Student’s Strike because of Mullai Periyar Row.The institution – Annamalai University, and the students – Post Graduate Students! I am sure the scene is almost common in all Universities/Colleges in Tamil Nadu whether they are in Urban or Rural areas.
Today, despite the fact, I was feeling bit feverish conducted a random survey among the agitating boys and girls. My questions were:-
Already I was running a temperature of 102 Degrees and hearing this reply this did shoot up my Blood Pressure as well. Further, I moved to few teachers, who were reconciling the agitating students and slowly asked them. “Sir, what is your view about the Mullai- Periyar row?” To my shock, I could find none having a clear picture of the issue and all were reflecting upon the issue of Kerala being adamant for releasing water.None were in favour of conducting a one day workshop in Mullai Periyar Dam Conflict neither agreeing to ease the agitating students stating that the issue is pending in Supreme Court of India and the matter is ‘Sub-Judice’. Yes, even lawyers of this country are behaving lawlessly why not the students?
What is wrong fundamentally with the students?
The days when students’ movements were part and parcel of grass root political participation of 1960’s are gone once and for ever. This is the country in which every university class room of pre independence era, were training camps of political struggle. Great Teachers inspired students to stand for Justice and also few advised the students to restraint from politics until they are fully self- empowered.
Roughly one hundred and ten years later, the first generation learners (mostly Dalits) are no better than Ambedkar of those days. None of them could read few lines from English Daily louder nor frame sentences on their own even in Tamil, their mother tongue. Just like blind goats, aimless boats in deep sea, having their commonsense hijacked by political leaders with parochial outlook, fall in line!
Certainly No.
Just that a malnourished child would fall sick for every infection, just like an unattended patient would yield to all ailments, I see the students, my dear pay masters, who make my living comfortable every month are literally like unattended crops, unattended nurseries by the Gardeners.
Unattended means, not the fact that their academic life is unattended, what I mean is that these are mere indicators that Teachers have failed to inspire students with values and morals. I feel than blaming media, than blaming the society for the unbecoming behaviour of a student, it would in the main mean the role, destructive role, an abatement deliberately played by Teachers, not bothered about their ethical responsibility of leading the commonsense of the students. Then, Do I favour Indoctrination? Never.I feel Universities; especially the on-campus departments of study are temples of Liberal Arts, that should liberate the minds of students. As often my former Professor &Head Dr.A.Shanmugam kept on pleading, “Department of Studies are man making Institutions. We are in the process of humanism building in students and in this process students acquire their academic degrees”.
Very unfortunately we live in the period of value deficit, where the priorities are factorised as materialistic achievements. Today, a teacher if has to fulfil the pre requisite conditions for aiming career advancements, need to spend his time in ‘building his career’. He/she has to publish so many papers and he/she has to attend a particular number of Conferences. ISBN Numbers are a must for any junk material that is published. This is the secret that nowadays conference call letters come with a caption “ All accepted Abstracts would be published in a proceedings with ISBN Number”, indicating that there is value for money remitted as Registration Fees for the Conference/Seminar. The PBAS ( Performance Based Appraisal System) of University Teachers apart from enhancing quality among teachers also prove fatal when teachers resort to “create” bogus records – a moral offence.
Price tag for the post of Vice Chancellors in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu faced a major shock when a Vice Chancellor (after being suspended for service), openly came out to the media that he paid Rupees Thirty lakhs to become Vice Chancellor. Imagine the leadership of such a Vice Chancellor in fostering knowledge in the University. Also, the positions of Heads of Department, Deanship have become a matter of status symbol and power – something totally divorced from the pursuit of knowledge. Hence, the atmosphere, environment and the working conditions itself do not favour inculcating values. What about the Individual Morality of Teachers?
Yes, this is what I advocate. Still despite the triumphs of evil, still Justice operates the World. Values and morals are still essential. We need to reinforce the necessity of good values and ethics among students, for which we teachers must be ethical and honest in our outlook. A Teacher is a teacher all the 24 hours and cannot say “I am a teacher from 10:00 to 4:30 PM” only. Whatever justifications, smoking, drinking, weakness towards opposite sex are cardinal crimes for a morally serious teacher.
I painfully recall a senior colleague who would light the cigarettes of students with his match box. There are instances, when girl students are molested and sexually harassed for award of marks and PhD Degree. This is no inferior than brutalities conducted by Armed Forces upon Tribal Women, but leave the judgement to God Above for these vandals. Aimless Students with Uncertain Future
Ultimately, the whole discussion tapers to the main issue: What about the future of the students? Who are responsible for misleading them? What are the moral responsibilities of Teachers, in shaping the values of the students?
These are the brutal questions that our XII Plan Document of UGC or even Policy Notes of the Governments could not answer, because these are our Moral duties. The best way to analyse the situation is putting us in the shoes of the parents of our students.
Being a Teacher of a particular University, if I send my son/daughter to study the same course offered here to some other University for the reason that the standard is better there than here, then first I should resign from this University, if I cannot set right my own house in order! I would not mind a legislation as it is in Europe that children of a specific locality should study in schools within the locality only ( Often run by Local Bodies). That is, I being a resident in Pondicherry, cannot put my son/Daughter for schooling in Chennai. Why not extend this to the wards of University Teachers? Let them have a full waiver of tuition fees but their children should study in the University, where their parents teach. This would perhaps make some incremental changes in the value system of teachers and the institution, rather than making the system suffer as Hardin's "Tragedy of Commons".
I am also aware that this is highly ambitious and choice of higher education institution must be the say of the student and not parents, but however just like a IIT Professor would inspire his son/daughter to join the same IIT, why not we do it?
I feel that the larger responsibility of a Teachers of Higher Centres for Learning like Universities is that first they should try their level best in shaping the character and values of the students by leading as examples.
( The picture is taken from www.pravasitoday.com)
Dear Sir,
ReplyDeleteYour views are apt and accurate . It is the collective responsibility of the students as well as teachers to make their institution as center of excellence for learning. Teachers with right attitudes alone can shape students and recruitment process must be fair to get the best talents .They in turn will impart the best qualities in students and make them efficient with high moral and academic stamina . Once it is started it would be a cycle and it continues. But the question is when it will start .