Curbing university indiscipline

Andrew Scott

Indiscipline in some of our universities has reached such a volatile position that some university students recently blatantly attacked even their Vice-Chancellor in the very university premises which should be held sacrosanct by all students.

From recent times the indiscipline in our universities has turned out to be a normal feature of the day and unless quick and effective measures are taken immediately to stem this rising tide of indiscipline in our universities there will be a lot of disruption in all our seats of higher education as well as in other educational institutions both in the present and in the future.

Above anything else, of what use is any type of education, be it school or university, without a proper sense of discipline. It is the time that particularly the university students realized the fact that even the best education in the world becomes utterly useless without a high sense of discipline, specially self-discipline which really embellishes the character of every educated person.

Student indiscipline and student unrest is nothing new to many countries throughout the world today. But the fact remains that while university students in other countries rise against intolerable social injustices and for the cause of very important national issues the university student population of Sri Lanka has become a tribe which can be easily roused for even very trivial means. This is a potential danger which our teachers, parents, university authorities and the State should seriously take note of.

For generations specially the educated classes in our society were taken as living models for their impeccable discipline which was really an adornment to one’s character much more than one’s wealth or the power he wielded. Today this picture has been reversed completely and the indiscipline among the university students has penetrated into even the schools and other educational institutions in the country and as a result an atmosphere of student indiscipline runs throughout the country.

Due to several contributory causes most of our university students have not been trained to assess situations critically with an open mind without depending heavily on the opinions of others who may be misguiding these youth, the intellectual cream of the country, to create chaos and instability both in and out of the universities. It has been amply demonstrated that today’s university students are ever ready to demonstrate against even the general rules of the country.

For instance when any university student is punished for any disciplinary or moral lapse on his or her part, some university students vehementally oppose the decision of the authorities by demonstrating and disturbing the civil life even on the highways and other public places. If this type of indiscipline among the university students is allowed to continue further we will be paving way for creating a dangerous and explosive situation in the future.

Unruly demonstrations

The irresponsible action of some university students as amply testified by the recent unruly demonstrations and baseless agitations demonstrate the fact that there is something radically wrong with the overall discipline of the country’s university students for whom the public is fast loosing the due honour and respect. It is true that our university students too have their own problems that have seeped into university life through the years but this should not be a cause or reason to create university indiscipline. As university students are adults, more educated than the rest of the society and are more experienced we naturally expect better norms of discipline from them at all times and at all places.

It is important that parents, elders, teachers and university authorities make the university students realize that they should respect and regard the university rules and regulations and the laws of the country.

At the same time elders should show a high standard of discipline worthy of emulation by the younger generation, specially the school and university students.

It is true that in some other countries today students rise against their parents, teachers and other elders about whom they do no care very much. But we must realize that in Sri Lanka, where the thoughts and actions of our people have been moulded by the words of the Buddha and other religious leaders for more than 2,500 years, the people have been civilized and disciplined from time immemorial and from the dim past Sri Lanka has been a disciplined nation and discipline has been an important feature in this country throughout the centuries.

The students in our universities must always be encouraged to strive hard to maintain this unique feature even today in spite of the fact that we are living in a society ridden with stress and strain, strife and discord. Now it is time that we sensibly analyzed why discipline among the university students has deteriorated to such a low standard.

There are several reasons for the spread of indiscipline among our university students. One of the most important reasons is politics of various shades trying to influence the lives and activities of university students. Today’s student generation, unlike in the past, lacks proper models or characters to base their lives on and university as well as school students invariably find that some of their very teachers, parents and even some of the leaders of the country are so indisciplined and they cannot draw anything worthwhile or inspirational from them.

In such a tragic situation we cannot blame only the university students for being indisciplined.

When students themselves realize that their elders are indisciplined no wholesome behaviour can be expected from the country’s student population. On the other hand during our student days a few decades ago we were very fortunate to have had inspiring human models to respectfully look up to in our teachers and elders who exerted a tremendous influence on our lives. Most of the university students today are utterly frustrated about their present as well as their future, specially when they think of the shrinking job opportunities before them and many of them think that pursuing higher studies expending their energy, time and money is not worth at all if they too have to join the long list of unemployed graduates in the country.

These as well as several other reasons collectively frustrate our university students who opt to make use of their time in the university for other activities such as participating in strikes and in public demonstration with or without valid reasons.

Counselling: a necessary

The State, teachers, parents and the university authorities should be ever vigilant about the activities of the students in the universities and every step must be taken to wean them away from the influence of the misguided elements in our society who under some pretext or the other always try everything possible to disrupt the smooth functioning of the universities.

Today’s university students lack wholesome ways to spend their time and they live in a world of stress and strain just not knowing what to do with their time in the university. This sort of environment is very harmful to the individuals as well as for the progress of the society in which they live.

In order to make our university students more disciplined and orderly it is important that we provide them with facilities for healthy leisure time activities under the guidance of able student counsellors. It is quite pathetic that proper student counselling is a grossly neglected aspect in our university system today and the relation between the university students and their academic and administrative staff is stained.

It is time that we took quick and effective steps to control the wave of indiscipline among the university students who must be made to realize that discipline and education should go hand in hand and they must be made to understand that a well disciplined society is far better than a society teeming with educated but indisciplined individuals.

At the same time we must do our best to wean university students from the corruptive influence of the society and guide them intelligently to become more disciplined.

Carefully chalked out plans for sound character building as inculcated even in the schools in the good old days are very imperative if we are to curb university unrest.

Parents, elders, and the university academic and administrative staff should join hands to endure that proper discipline is maintained throughout a students’ life and that it should be easily absorbed into oneself even in adult life.

It is only then that we can be hopeful of truly disciplined university students who would be a blessing to all of us.