In a recent vernacular weekly there was a write-up on a young man with M.Phil Degree working as a waiter in a restaurant to earn money for his education as well as his family. In another weekly there was another article on high school children committing suicide because they were unable to meet the demands and expectations of their parents. A physically challenged student of mine doing his B Tech degree confided to me that he is the son of a weaver. I asked him whether he knows his father's art. To my surprise he not only said that 'yes' but also told me that he always earned the school fee by assisting his father in his work. Now also he claimed that he works part time to meet his educational needs partly.

These three independent information points one truth. Persons with self confidence and determination survive under any circumstances while those who always depend on others cannot face crisis. Most of the parents unfortunately believe that by sending the children to the best schools (preferably English medium) and engineering/ medical college, their responsibility is over. They only expect them to perform well (preferably extraordinarily) and start earning from the day they come out of the college.

Is that correct? Or is it possible? Perhaps to some and definitely not to many.

A parent or teacher has responsibilities, if not in equal measure, to develop a personality and character in the youth. I do agree working parents and unwilling teachers hardly prefer to spend time with the youngsters to share their pains and pleasures. We never care as much to talk to our growing children as we care to provide them comforts and facilities. Comforts and facilities can only make a person either complacent or overbearing. Do we try to understand their real interest, capability or talent of our growing children? Instead we try to push our dreams on them without even bothering to know if they like it or not or whether it will suit their character or capabilities.

The nuclear families, indifference of the parents, enormous freedom, loneliness, material comforts, exposure of wider circle of world have made our younger population to various degrees of mental trauma to be candid. If the too sensitive find recourse in self-destruction the too indifferent also do it in a different way.

Educating the parents and teachers is the need of the hour.