Several articles have been published on the alarming rate of indiscipline among the youth of your country. Write your contribution.

Answer Details

CURBING THE RISING TIDE OF INDISCIPLINE AMONG OUR YOUTH

The many articles recently published on the alarming rate of indiscipline among the youth of this country have moved me to add my own voice. Indiscipline, that is, the wilful disregard for rules, elders and decent conduct, has indeed become a plague that threatens the very future of our nation, and it must be confronted with courage and honesty.

The signs are everywhere. Examination malpractice, cultism, drug abuse, rudeness to elders, indecent dressing and the reckless craving for quick wealth have become common among young people. What was once a matter of shame is now openly paraded, and those who counsel restraint are dismissed as old-fashioned.

Several factors are responsible for this decline. The first is poor upbringing. Many parents, absorbed in the pursuit of money, have surrendered the training of their children to housemaids and television, and so the young grow up without moral guidance. Secondly, the mass media and social networks glorify violence, vulgar wealth and loose living, presenting these as the ideal way of life. Thirdly, the failure of society to reward hard work and to punish wrongdoing has convinced many youths that discipline does not pay.

Yet the situation is not beyond repair. Parents must return to their God-given duty of moulding the character of their children by precept and by example. Schools, on their part, should revive moral instruction and firmly but fairly enforce their rules. The government and the media must promote wholesome values and honour men and women of integrity so that the young may have worthy models to follow. Above all, wrongdoing must attract just punishment, so that indiscipline ceases to appear profitable.

Indiscipline is not an incurable disease. If home, school, government and society join hands, the tide can be turned, and our youths can be raised into responsible citizens on whom the hopes of the nation may safely rest. The task is urgent, and the time to begin is now.