SHILLONG: “Today’s youth are a privileged lot. Information and knowledge is not a problem today but today’s youth are troubled. Youth lack true information even with the availability of technology. They are informed but not educated.”
This was the observation made by L. Roy, a retired IAS officer who is serving as Chairman of Meghalaya Private University Regulatory Board (MPURB) during the celebration of 95th Foundation day of Laban Bengali Boys’ Higher Secondary School on Wednesday.
Expressing concern in this regard, he said there was something wrong with the world today with the growing threat of unemployment and population explosion. He pointed out that India will surpass China in the years to come in terms of population.
Quoting Swami Vivekananda who said that “Education is not the amount of information that is put into your brain and runs riot there, undigested, all your life…”, he said that education should make a person stand on their own and ingrain a sense of confidence in people.
Commenting on the school, Roy said that the school has reached academic excellence in spite of the improper infrastructure and was optimistic that the financial assistance of Rs 3 crore from Asian Development Bank (ADB) would ameliorate the conditions of the school.
He also lauded the contribution of the Bengali community to the field of education in the state.
Renowned educationist and former Principal of Shillong College, MPR Lyngdoh asserted that with the responsibilities of teachers had increased due to challenges posed by development of technology and the burgeoning social media.
According to her, teachers are also social workers who have the play a key role to help the poor and needy students and shape the character of students in nation building.
“To bring out the best in a child is the best education,” she added. The school also distributed prizes to meritorious students during the function.