Students' values should remain intact

The contribution of students to Bangladesh's political history is written in golden letters and will continue to be so. Students played a heroic role in the Language Movement, and in the 1969 mass uprising, they led the charge. Their contribution in the 1971 Liberation War is undeniable. Later, in the anti-autocratic movement against Ershad in 1990, and in the anti-fascist movement of July 2024, they played a major role. In any critical moment of the nation’s history, students have always been at the forefront. We take immense pride in our students, particularly for the role they played in the July uprising, which astonished the world.

However, some recent actions by students have left the general public bewildered. Specifically, their road blockades demanding university-related issues, the disruption of bus and train services causing suffering to passengers, and essentially paralyzing Dhaka city, have made them unpopular with the general public. Furthermore, this week’s violence in three colleges cannot be considered student-like behavior. A trivial issue led them to create a battleground. Reports suggest that establishing dominance was the main goal behind this unruly behavior. Students from various educational institutions are engaging in fights over minor issues.

The question arises: why are students getting involved in clashes over trivial matters? Sociologists believe that the overall situation of the country has infiltrated educational institutions as well. The lack of accountability and rule of law, the tendency to get away with wrongdoing, and the absence of a culture of values are the reasons behind such incidents.

Moreover, how can students from one college go to another college and celebrate by removing the nameplate? What happened to their sense of conscience? The purpose of education is to create individuals with a developed sense of morality and conscience! So, why this destruction? We believe this is a collective failure on our part. Additionally, why did teachers fail to stop their students? These conflicts are not only harming students' education but also wasting valuable time. Teachers are also responsible for keeping their students in the classroom and engaged in their studies. Why are teachers failing in this aspect as well?

We must all remember that without humanity and a sense of conscience, all education is in vain! Therefore, the first priority is to become a true human being. The environment to become a human being must start from society and the state. There must be a culture of values in society and the state. Once upon a time, sports and debate competitions were held in colleges, but now these seem to be gone. All avenues for development are blocked. The inherent nature of youth is always to do something new. But where is the call for this newness? A stagnant social structure, where personal interests seem to dominate, is all that exists. Where are the discussions about becoming great individuals, scientists, writers, entrepreneurs, or social workers? Perhaps not everyone will become a great scientist or writer, but society and the state must provide an open cultural space that inspires young students with patriotism, where are these ideals in our society?

The people's movement was born out of the suffocating feeling of the past, but that movement is not the final word. Now, the country must be rebuilt, and the youth will play a crucial role in that process. But this cannot happen through internal conflicts. What is needed is tolerance, and tolerance can only be cultivated through a cultural renaissance. We want to see a cultural awakening among our students, a development of ideals and values.