Students And Social Service
Category : Secondary School Level
India is an under-developed country faced with gigantic problems. Millions of people in villages are poor, illiterate, and under-nourished. Cities have to grapple with difficulties posed by slums, housing shortage, unemployment, and labour unrest. The Government is trying, through its Five-Year Plans, to bring about the development of the country. But the task is stupendous and needs the cooperation of all people including students.
In the past students spontaneously responded to the call of the country and took part in the struggle for freedom. They should now realize that the task of reconstructing India is as important as was that of liberating it. They should devote a part of their vacation and holidays to social service.
They could easily take up the work of adult education. They can teach slum-dwellers or villagers how to read and write. However, mere literacy is not enough. Literacy should lead to the ability to think and form one's opinions on the burning work in a systematic manner, adult illiteracy will be a thing of the past and Indian democracy a real success.
There are other forms of social service suitable for students. They can stay in villages during vacations and construct roads, dig wells, and try to eradicate evils like untouchability and communalism. Medical students can offer valuable service to villagers, helping them to fight against disease and illness. Students of agriculture can teach them improved methods of farming, while engineering students can assist in the construction of school and hospital buildings. Very often it happens that villagers are skeptical about the bonfides of the young social workers and their ability to help them, and are likely to regard them as fashionable butterflies on a holiday spree. It is up to the students to prove that they are sincere and mean business. Once they win the trust and love of the villagers, they are bound to get co-operation and encouragement from them.
The social work which students are capable of doing should be properly organized by the Government and educational authorities. Certain schools and colleges should ‘adopt’ particular villages in their neighborhood, and aim at developing them in a definite period. In fact, social service should be made compulsory for every student – a prerequisite for getting a degree.
At present students have no sense of purpose and their youthful enthusiasm and idealism do not find suitable outlets for expression. This is one of the reasons for the widespread unrest among them. One of the best ways of solving the problem of student indiscipline is to channelise their energies by making them participate in the exciting task of rebuilding the nation.
