Coimbatore: As students violently slug it out on the campuses, college managements in Coimbatore are racking their brains over reining in the errant students.In a shocking turn in soaring campus violence, a 21-year-old engineering student of Karpagam University was clubbed to death with a wooden log. “Students generally have a tendency to form groups based on caste, religion and on the nativity of a place. They develop an affinity among themselves and involve in clashes.
Such students, who bond into groups, should be identified, monitored and counselled at the right time before they resort to any violence,” said M Kuppuswamy, principal of Maharaja College of Engineering.“Our college has experts to counsel the students with violenttendencies on the need to get reformed for a better future.” B. Selvaraj, an assistant professor of department of psychology in Government Arts College, describes violence by students as a ‘status offence’ done just for the sake of pride.
“Even teasing is an indirect form of aggression. A soft natured student may turn aggressive when in a group due to the privilege of ‘anonymity.’ The best way to help students is to keep away from violence by counselling them on the ethics of life. Also the students should be kept engaged in activities and provide a right outlet for their emotions. Though sports could be one area, where students can be made to focus on, most of the colleges lack even proper playgrounds,” he said.
Mr Selvaraj also said that most of the colleges have teachers as counsellors, who just advise the students and do no counsel by understanding the root cause of a problem. “Colleges should have real counsellors for the sake of students,” he added. Students Federation of India (SFI) Deepak Chandrakanth said that students should be encouraged to participate in cultural programmes. “By participating in such events, students of a department get an opportunity to interact with other departments and eventually develop a bonding,” he said.
