APPENDIX X--
A NOTE ON STUDENT INDISCIPLINE,
 PREPARED BY THE SECRETARY,
 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
 

The problem of indiscipline among students has been exercising the attention of national leaders as well as educationists at all levels. Apart from the general sense of unrest throughout the world due to the destruction of old and the failure so far to create a new set of values, there are some special factors in India which contribute to students' dissatisfaction and indiscipline in the country. While the present situation causes concern. the situation is not yet beyond control and effective measures can restore a more normal attitude among students and the younger generation. On the other hand, failure to take effective steps at this stage can only lead to national disaster.

The pre-condition to the adoption of effective measures is a correct appraisal of the situation and definition of the causes which create the present unrest. An analysis of all the causes would require a volume but the three following factors deserve special mention:-

A. THE LOSS OF LEADERSHIP By TEACHERS

There can be no question that wherever there is effective leader- ship by the teachers, there can be no problem of indiscipline among students. Teachers today do not unfortunately command the respect and affection of their pupils to the extent they did in the past; for this they alone are not to blame. The major factors which have led to the loss of leadership by the teachers may be briefly described as follows: -

(a) With the growing political consciousness since 1920, students were also drawn into the political struggle. They did not consistently or continuously participate in struggles, but a general temper of revolt against political servitude and desire to struggle for national liberation became widespread. The personality of Mahatma Gandhi, Mr. C. R. Das, the Prime Minister, Maulana Azad, Mr. Subhas Rose and others also powerfully affected the imagination of young students. Teachers for various reasons were not able to take an active part in the political struggle and to some extent lost the respect and esteem of their pupils.

(b) There has been unceasing criticism of the system of education which has shaken the confidence and morale of teachers, induced in the minds of the public a loss of respect for the profession and created among the students disrespect for the 8system and a spirit of cynicism which have combined to lower the status of the teachers.

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(c) During this period the teacher has also been continually losing in social status partly for the reasons mentioned above but mostly because of the fact that teachers belong to a lower income level. Thirty or 40 years ago, few Indians had prospects of high Government office and openings in industry and commerce were limited. As avenues in other directions opened, a situation developed when people turned to teaching only after failing to find any other profession. The general desire for more lucrative posts was reinforced by the difficulties created by post-war inflation. The salaries of teachers which were in any case unsatisfactory now became inadequate even for bare subsistence. Teachers were forced to look for subsidiary income, particularly in the bigger cities and youngmen were loth to become teachers. Teachers today are not only economically poor but often frustrated and bitter men. and this not only detracts from their position in society but makes them positive sources of danger to the community.

(d) The entirely justified demand for expansion of facilities in education has also contributed to a lowering of the prestige of the teacher in two ways. On the one hand, the low income and the demand for large numbers threw the profession open to people who were not qualified. On the other, the large increase in numbers meant that personal contacts between the teacher and the taught were lost. Unqualified teachers with little opportunities of personal contact with pupils could not win the respect of their pupils by their scholarship or character.

(e) The teacher has little control over even educational issues. The universities, colleges and schools are often controlled by politicians. Even syllabuses and examinations are largely outside the purview of the teacher. Undue emphasis on examination tends to turn the teacher into a mere agent for preparing pupils for examinations.

(f) The factors mentioned above meant a deterioration in the quality of teachers both academically and otherwise. Once the quality of teachers deteriorated, their leadership over the students decreased even more rapidly. A vicious circle has thus been set up by which loss of leadership of the teachers tends to keep away abler people from the profession and on the other hand, because able people keep away, the quality further deteriorates.

B. GROWTH OF ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES

The fall in the quality of teachers would have been a serious problem at any time, but the growing economic difficulties made it even more critical. In spite of increasing industrial and commercial development and the opening of many new avenues of employment (like the Armed Forces or the higher Civil Services) formerly almost closed to Indians, the general economic distress has been on the

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increase. The growth of Population is one of its major causes but what has made the situation more acute is the refusal of the people to tolerate conditions in which they had formerly acquiesced. This has affected the student community in various ways of which the two most important are as follows:

(a) The number of pupils has increased rapidly but many of them are drawn from social strata which cannot provide them with their minimum needs. In the past when the number of students was small, they came from the wealthier classes and did not face any serious economic struggle at least during their student life. As the number of pupils has increased, they have started feeling the stress of economic struggle even during student life. In many cases, pupils have to support themselves partially or wholly.

(b) The financial insecurity is further underlined by the miserable conditions in which the vast majority of the pupils live. School and college boarding houses generally provide a minimum standard but many of the private messes lack even the bare necessities of life. Living in unlovely and congested surroundings, students develop an attitude of bitterness and resentment, particularly when they compare their own conditions with that of a small fraction of the community who are comparatively better off.

C. GENERAL LOSS OF IDEALISM

Poverty is a great destroyer of character in any circumstances, but the economic difficulties mentioned above have been aggravated by a general loss of idealism due to various factors. The course of world affairs- in the last two or three decades has encouraged the growth of a spirit of cynicism, avarice and rebelliousness. A few of the major factors may be listed below:

(a) A general demoralisation has set in all over the world as a result of two world wars. During war, truth was the first casualty. Hatred became almost a religion with large sections of the people. The war saw the rise of a class who grew rich by adopting all kinds of objectionable methods. The hardship which honest men faced tended to lower the general moral standards of the community. Young people could not but be affected by the prevalence of black-marketing, bribery, corruption and the loss of morals that was prevalent all around.

(b) The spread of communist ideology has also contributed to undermine the sense of values by its insistence that ends justify the means. The communist demand for social justice had an immediate appeal particularly to the young and held out before them the prospects of a just social order. This element of idealism in Communism made its repudiation of moral values the more dangerous. In the background of economic difficulties, unemployment and disillusionment, young students are not

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frightened by the loss of moral ideals or even by the threat to personal freedom, as they consider this a price to be paid for attaining a minimum of security.

(c) Another factor which marks a change for the worse arose out of the very success of our national struggle. Twenty-five or 30 years ago, the heroes whom the young people admired were sufferers for a cause. Students then grew up in an atmosphere of idealism where the Congress and the national leaders held before them the challenge of suffering and sacrifice. With the attainment of freedom, the phase of struggle is over and those who were the leaders in the struggle are the leaders in the Government. This is inevitable but it has unfortunately induced a spirit of cynicism in the young, particularly among those who have no personal recollection of the sufferings of our national leaders but see them today in positions of power and prestige.

(d) The factors mentioned above have created an attitude of mind where success is the only value that the young recognise. Success is interpreted in a narrow sense and mainly in terms of worldly comforts. The success which involves long endeavour and labour for a cause (like the creations of art or the discoveries of science) are less respected today than the material success evident in the attainment of wealth.

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If indiscipline or unrest among the students is to be eliminated these major causes have to be removed. The loss of leadership by teachers is specifically a problem of education while the other two major causes demand action at many levels. If the leadership of the teacher can be restored, this would, however, go a long way in solving these problems as well. A respected and competent teacher can help to check the demoralisation and cynicism which prevails among students and through students influence society at large.

A. The following measures would help to restore the leadership to teachers at various levels. While recognising the need for con- stant reform, sweeping condemnation of the existing system of edu- cation must cease. The quality of teachers must obviously be improved and there must also be some relation between the number of teachers and the taught. The number of teachers must be increased, not only in order to improve the quality of teaching but because of its effect on the unemployment situation. At the elementary level alone, a national system of education would require about 2.7 million teachers. At present the number of teachers in Elementary schools is only a little more than half a million. so that given the necessary expansion in education, another two million teachers could be absorbed in the system. If even another half a million teachers were employed, educated unemployment would disappear and would immediately create an atmosphere of hope and progress in the country.

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For improving the quality of teachers and raising their status in society, the following measures are suggested at the university level:

(a) The main reasons why able people are not today attracted to the teaching profession are two. On the one hand, the atmosphere in universities has deteriorated and on the other. the salaries paid are extremely poor.

In order to restore the academic atmosphere of universities steps must be taken to weed out political parties and intrigues. Vice- Chancellors and other officers of the university must be appointed on academic and not on party considerations. The implementation of University Education Commission's recommendations regarding the selection of the Vice-Chancellor and the reconstitution of University Syndicates and Senates would go a long way in removing these evils. This may require the amendment of various University Acts, but there would be hardly any financial implications to the implementation of the recommendations.

Simultaneously, salary scales must be raised, particularly at the initial stages. I had asked Sir Bon Lockspeiser as to how the British universities are able to retain their best men in the humanities as well as science and technology in spite of the fact that higher wages are offered in Government service, commerce and industry. His reply was that the universities offer an initial salary which is higher than young men could expect in any of these other spheres. This attracts some of the best men in their early youth and once they have developed an interest in their special fields of study, they later on refuse all offers however tempting. In India, we can, therefore, attract the ablest amongst our students to the teaching profession if the initial salary is somewhat higher or at least comparable to some of the higher administrative services. The administrative services offer Rs. 350-1,800. The British analogy would support a scheme under which universities offered Rs. 400-1,000 and the colleges Rs. 350-850.

Since the approximate number of teachers in University Department is 2.000 and in constituent and affiliated colleges 25,000, the acceptance of this proposal would mean an annual expenditure of Rs. 1.68 crores for university teachers (calculated at the mean salary of Rs. 700 per person) and Rs. 18 crores for teachers in colleges (at a mean salary of Rs. 600 per person). A figure of almost Rs. 20 crores on salaries alone as against a total expenditure of Rs. 17.55 crores in 1951-52 for entire university education would not however be practicable in the immediate future.

We may devise a scheme by which future recruits, provided they satisfy the standard defined by an all-India committee and are selected by it, are given the grades proposed above. Teachers already in service who may be

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approved by the said committee may also from time to time be placed in the same grade. The constitution of the University Grants Commission would make the working of such a scheme feasible.

Pending the acceptance of such a scheme, if universities and colleges are able to offer teachers the salaries recommended by the University Education Commission, even this would have a great psychological effect. The Commission recommended for university lecturers a scale of Rs. 300-25-600. For lecturers in colleges without post-graduate classes the scale recommended is Rs. 200400 and for teachers with post-graduate classes Rs. 200-500. Perhaps a confirmed scale of Rs. 250-500 may be more desirable than such separate scales. The maximum cost of the acceptance of such a recommendation is not likely to exceed rupees four crores per annum for the whole of India.

(b) We should institute on the average three National Professorships at each university at a salary of about Rs. 2,000. No one would, however, be appointed a National Professor unless he was recognised as an authority in his own field. Appointment may be in any subject on the recommendation of a National Selection Committee and once appointed, the Professor may teach in any university. It is probable that most universities will not be able to find more than one professor and some will not find even one. Even assuming that each university can find three, the maximum cost to Government would be Rs. 21.6 lakhs a year for all the universities. This maximum would not be reached for many years, as National Professors would not be appointed unless they reached a sufficient eminence. Nevertheless, the existence of such posts would act as a spur to university teachers and inspire them to greater efforts.