Page 339 - DEDU502_GUIDANCE_AND_COUNSELING_ENGLISH

Unit 32 : Problems of Guidance and Counseling in India and their Solutions

distress. All these factors lead to unrest, stress and strain in the youth. The restless state of mind Notes
often makes weak-willed youth gullible and fall into the company of drug users. In course of time,
they become victims of drug addiction. The use of drugs becomes a means of escape from feelings
of void and helplessness. Those initially attracted to the thrill of drugs soon become addicts and
helplessly dependent. They develop a sense of craving, heightened states of anxiety and physical
suffering.
The youth is not altogether to be blamed for this state of affairs. In our fast society, no one has the
time even to lie down for a couple of days if feeling unwell. One has to keep going. The pharmaceutical
companies dish out several kinds of doubtful drugs and advertise their products aggressively and
effectively through the mass media. This makes several people resort to drugs. In fact, the present
generation may be called the drug-devouring generation. People want instant relief, and therefore,
swallow one pill or another. The young, observing the adults resorting to phoney medicines for
instant relief, follow suit. This explains how youth are turning to drugs. Most adults find it difficult
to get relief from their tensions and anxieties through self-discipline. They find it easier to swallow
pills, no matter even if the relief they feel is only brief or temporary. In this brave new world, we are
developing an increasing inability to tolerate even small amounts of physical and emotional
discomfort. Modern urbanized industrial societies look for painless life at the cost of freedom.
Increasing number of youth turn to drugs that provide a sense of thrill by creating feelings of
‘upness’.

32.9 Problems in the Indian Educational Context

The twin problems plaguing the Indian educational scene are : (1) stagnation and (2) wastage.
Stagnation is concerned with the failure of students in examinations. The Indian educational system
has an unparalleled record of over 70% failures at annual examinations. Efforts made to redeem the
situation have not yet been successful. The Indian population ranks among the second highest in
the world. This factor alone has been nullifying most of the efforts made to solve many of its social
problems. Consequently a significant section of the population (around 40%) is living below the
poverty line and many school and college-going students are compelled to quit their academic
careers to earn a living and add their earnings to the paltry family income. This contributes to
educational wastage. Those who graduate face the problem of unemployment and this is in spite of
the efforts made by the governments at both the state and central levels.
The problems so far outlined refer to the problems of students in the post-adolescent and pre-
adulthood period. A few resort to crime and delinquency and the upper-middle and rich among
them may resort to drugs and alcohol. An effective programme of counseling could help clarify
feelings and motivate students by increasing their self-awareness and self-understanding. This is
best achieved by clarifying goals which serve to bridge motivation and thinking.
Collegiate environments tend to emphasize cognitive pursuits and academic excellence at the cost
of other aspects of student life and needs. Most of the college students perhaps live for the first time
away from their parents and homes. There is no doubt that for freshmen at college, adjustment
poses a host of problems. For one thing, the freshman arrives on the campus during a critical phase
of his personality development, namely, adolescence. Adolescence is a deeply internal as well as
environmental crisis, for the adolescent has to adjust himself to rapid physiological changes taking
place within his body as well as the problems that arise from the environment or situations as a
consequence of the bodily changes that have taken place. He is suddenly left to his own devices to
adjust himself to the demands of the new situation. He has to pick and choose his friends from the
many who join college with him without any outside assistance. He may err and become a member
of an undesirable group. The highly academic and often unemotional atmosphere of the institution,
the severance from home life and the uncertainties of the hostel or dormitory are some of the
situations which could create acute problems of adjustment for the freshman. Some are successful in
making new friends and discovering new interests, are adequately motivated and develop a thirst

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