We often hear that the new generation is indifferent to their studies. This is true of both the students of private and government schools. While parents of private school students complain that their wards study very little besides doing their school assignments, very few parents of the students enrolled in government schools bother about the performance of their children. The problem is the same at higher levels. In some instances, the students are overconfident of their knowledge and abilities which bring them down during exam time. Whatever the case, the problem persists in almost every household.

Why are the students unwilling to study as per their own expectation and that of their parents? Why are they so inactive in classrooms? Educational institutions with dismal pass percentage are very worried about the study habits of their students. There may be several reasons behind this. The first question to ask is, where are our children headed? Do they have any set goal? More importantly, do the educational institutions follow the goals if there are any? While the school-level curriculum raises expectations, higher education seems hopeless in this regard. The process of classroom delivery still focuses on teaching content rather than shaping the behaviour of children as is aptly illustrated by the poor academic results.

In other words, we are preparing our students to memorise the content and answer questions based on their memory. But with what goals in mind? Ask them and the students in schools and colleges fail to state a definite goal or ambition.

The unemployment rate even among the educated and degree-holders is alarmingly high. Students cannot envisage a

bright prospect even in the occupations they are supposed to have good knowledge about. Third, the elitist approach in

education sector has demotivated many students from further studies. The craze for private schooling is the perfect example of the elitist trend in education. Those who have money send their children to

selected private schools and pack them abroad immediately after they finish high school. The less fortunate are left behind. This has caused frustration among the students who are left behind.

Fourth, the job market is always open to people with expertise in communication and technology. The umpteen job ads are testaments to this fact. The educational institutions, however, are lagging behind in imparting these skills to the students.

Even at the higher levels, there are no overhead projectors and multimedia in more than 90 per cent of the higher education

institutions. Teachers still resort to age-old teaching methodologies, which can

only produce mediocre students. Hence even the Master’s degree-holders are

not confident about applying for positions that call for the skills they are supposed to have learned in college.

Fifth, the job market is very small and students lack entrepreneurial skills. The limited jobs that are available are either taken up by those who have been fortunate enough to study in selected schools and colleges or by those who have a strong linkage with political leaders. This has further demotivated the new generation from focusing on their studies. Sixth, the political system of the country is yet to stabilise following the recent political upheavals. That is why many students want to go abroad for their studies and want to stay there forever. Those who cannot go abroad are looking for manual jobs in Gulf countries. All these conditions go on to explain why most of the students are demotivated to take up their studies seriously.

This is the reason why the urban youth today spend most of their valuable time watching useless television programmes and playing computer games. One can see the flood of youths in cybercafes these days where their major job is either chatting or playing games. The frustrating moments the youth spend educating themselves need to be looked at closely. Otherwise the future of the nation itself will be jeopardised. In order to address these problems the government should come up with a sound skill-oriented education system for the next 20 years at the least. Identifying local resources, mobilising them for development purposes and strengthening the country’s economy are some of the major roles that education must play.

Introducing innovative technology, preparing human resources to handle them and using such skills to build the nation are some of the other demands of 21st century education. Educating should mean preparing the students to compete with the students at the same level

worldwide. It is not simply providing certificates. Let us assure the students that their degrees will yield some fruits (if not everything they aspire for) immediately after they complete their studies. Unless the government plans to mobilise the educated youth in development activities there will be no motivation for them to study.

Dr. Wagley is an educationist