There is today a lot of unrest and indiscipline among Students in India. Why so? Well, the world of students is something like a bee-hive. Bees like to produce honey. But honey cannot be produced without juice. Bees move from flower to flower to collect juice. But if they do not get enough of juice, they get angry and sting those who disturb them in their work.
Unrest among Students in India is only an expression of discontent and nothing else. This discontent cannot be cured by what is called Police Method.
In the same way, students are engaged in their studies. But nobody seems to care for their needs. Even their essential needs are not fulfilled. If students are like children, there must be somebody to look after them like their own mother. But what a pity! All our schools and colleges today are very much like step-mothers. The students have every reason to believe that they are neglected. Their feelings and interests are not taken into consideration. They do not have enough to live on. They do not get library facilities. They do not get proper hostel arrangements. Even the courses of studies are not framed to suit their needs and tastes. For instance, they feel they can do better if they are taught through the medium of their own mother tongue. But nobody cares. So, students start crying, as children must do when they feel hungry.
There is yet another kind of unrest among Indian students. Students feel that things are not as they should be. There is a lot of corruption in every walk of life. They cannot be blind and deaf to what goes on around them. How can they remain cut off from society? So, it is but natural for them to take interest in the social, political and economic life of their country. Now, to take active interest in the lives of the people and to voice their feelings is not an act of indiscipline. It only shows that the world of students is alive and alert. But to act under the influence of political parties and to join their violent agitations for political ends is, no doubt, an act of indiscipline. And then the government has a right to deal with the problem as a law and order problem.
In some cases, however, students alone are not responsibilities for indiscipline. Our school and college committees and university bodies have become hot-beds of politics. Most of the members of these committees are politicians. They have to take the help of both students and teachers to gain their ends. There are, again, teacher-pollutions, too. They all encourage indiscipline among students. This type of indiscipline can go only when politicians quit these temples of learning.
There is something wrong with our education system itself. Our schools and colleges aim at manufacturing only job-seekers. They fail to produce good men and women. Education today helps you earn a living. It does not help you learn the art of living well. In other words, it does not try to develop your character. So, our system of education and examination must be changed if we like to drive away the ghost of indiscipline.