By Syed Mustafa Ahmad –
Students are an asset. They are past, present and future of a nation. It is they who keep the flame of development alive. The Poet of East Sir Muhammad Iqbal stressed upon this fact that the destiny of the students is not this worldly matter; but rising above the worldly bonds, is the main aim of students. Looking through this lens makes it clear how sensitive we must be towards the development of students. No leniency is acceptable in this regard.
If we look at the developed nations of the world, they invest in students. They have experienced old people, who guide the youth or students in the best possible way. Japan and China are some live examples. Instead of spending on other futile things, they want to make their nation supreme in every respect. So, they are sensitive towards the all-round development of their students. However, in our case, there is no such thing. Students are left with no opportunities to prove their mettle. They have world class brains but the absence of opportunities and some other factors, hurt their cause. It should be kept in mind that it is not the product of a single factor; rather it is the combination of many factors. Let us try to know some of them.
First is materialism
When the main objective of life is to pile up material things, then there are cent percent chances that students will be neglected. Indeed, it is happening in our society. The associated-thing with it is that education itself has become a source of earning as much as anyone can. In this situation, no doubt, we have students but they are good for nothing. They want to complete their education because they think that education is an end in itself. So, getting a piece of degree makes them feel that we have invested a lot in earning these pieces of degrees, now, let us extract as much as we can. In this way, the main objective before students is thrown to the winds.
Second is lack of knowledge
We do not know why we are here. When the elders and leaders do not fulfill their objective of life, it makes no sense that students of theirs can do miracles. They will toe the line and become good for nothing. Mark Twain says that only two days are important: One is when we are born and the day when we know why. This is the gist of life. Any sane person who, if asked, admits that there is an objective behind our creation. We are not useless. However, our ignorance has made it possible that neither we nor our students know anything about it.
Third is imitation
Well, imitating others with good principles is a welcome step. However, imitating others blindly, is a curse. Everyone is different. No two people are the same. But we tend to forget this thing. The main concern of our students is to imitate those who earn a lot and are respected by each and everyone. They forget themselves and at the end of the day, are not found in any place. It is a big fault of our society that let students follow others without looking at both sides of the coin. In this way, the marvelous brains are destroyed.
Fourth and last is corruption
Students feel choked in a corrupted society. Their wings are clipped before taking a flight. In our corrupted state, merit is taken for granted while showing off and bribery takes a long flight which no one can imagine. What can a student do in this environment? Obviously, he or she will feel that it is useless to be enlightened. However, he or she enlightens himself or herself but in some other way. A student keeps itself away from the mainstream learning where question papers are sold. In this way, the very aim of education goes for a toss and enlightenment hangs its head in shame.
In short, students should be taken care of. They have plastic minds. We are moulders. We have to come forward to mould them in the best manner. Let us pledge that we will never let our students feel in want. Instead, we must be ready to help them in whatever way we can. Hope good sense prevails!
(Views expressed are personal)
