By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal: The fundamental flaw of existing educational system is that it is only producing Knowledge Workers, who are committed to their corporate gods. The need of the hour is to redefine the education and its philosophical base, said Bishruddin Sharqi, National president, Students’ Islamic Organisation, (SIO), of India while addressing the Students’ Conference at Hamdard University in New Delhi on Monday.
Bishruddin said that students are not mere consumers but leaders of tomorrow and they should play their role to establish a society based not only on justice and equity but also on righteousness. He strongly condemned the conspiracy to depoliticize the student community and the rising trend of ultra self-centrism among students and youth.
According to a press release issued by M. Gauhar Iqbal, Secretary, Public Relations SIO of India, Delhi Zone, the chief guest, Prof. Baseer Ahmad, Pro-VC, IGNOU, in his address said students should come forward to eradicate evils and to strive for the right. It is irony of our times that the evils are being presented as if they are virtues.
Maulana Jalaluddin Umri, Chief Patron, SIO of India, in his keynote address spoke about the fundamental duties of youth in the present era. Citing examples from past, he appealed to the gathering to come forward and uphold the dignity of education and life itself.
A Students’ Manifesto was released by Prof. Muhammad Abdul Haq Ansari, Director, Islami Academy. It includes demands along with SIO’s stand on Education, student-hood and life.
In the symposium on “Challenges to the Nation and Students’ Agenda”, leaders of different Students’ organizations and movements expressed their grave concern over the corporatisation of education. They apprehended “If this trend is allowed to continue, education will become a distant dream for common man”. They also expressed their disquiet about different challenges like communalism, human rights violations and degradation of moral values.
Prof. Mohd. Rafat, patron, SIO Delhi, while presiding the symposium said, it is the responsibility of student community to strive for the evil free campuses and create an environment where people should come forward to raise their voice against injustice, violation of rights and inequality.
Explaining the objectives of the conference, Adnan Yousuf, State president, SIO Delhi, said that SIO believes in fundamental aim and purpose of education is to create real humans but unfortunately the existing system is unable to fulfill this prime objective of education. As a result, the worldly life and its material pleasures have become an end in itself, which leads to the ideology of Self-centrism.
This conference was among the series of programmes to mark the completion of twenty five years of SIO’s struggle and activism for the reconstruction of society. This conference was preceded by a grand students rally from SIO headquarters to Jamia Millia Islamia followed by an address in the main campus.
Nusrat Ali, Secretary General, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Asif Iqbal (former State president, SIO Delhi), Br. Suhail K K (National Secretary, SIO of India), Abdul Rafeeq (National Secretary, SIO of India), Awdhesh Tripathy of AISA, Zubair Rabbani of AIDSO, Amit Kumar Srivastava of Youth for Equality and Akhtar Ali of INSO, Ms. Maryam Fatima of Girls Islamic Organisation (GIO), Delhi, Anees Farooqui and Mahtab Alam also spoke at the conference. ([email protected])