Education
Youth Leadership in Education: Nurturing Young Leaders for a Better Tomorrow
On 12th January, India celebrates National Youth Day, a day to celebrate the achievements and contributions of young people in India and around the world. It is also a day to reflect on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the future generation of leaders.
India is a country of diversity, with over 1.3 billion people belonging to different religions, languages, cultures, and regions. It is also a country of potential, with more than 65% of its population under the age of 35. These young people have the power and the responsibility to shape the destiny of their nation and the world.
However, India also faces many issues that hinder its progress and development. One of these issues is the lack of youth representation in decision-making bodies at all levels.
According to a report by Ashoka, in 2019, hardly 1.5% of the Lok Sabha MPs belonged to the age group 25-30, 12% were between 30 and 40 and 16% came from the 51-55 age group. The majority of the Indian democracy is made up of people below the age of 40. This means that many young voices are not heard or taken into account when policies are made or implemented.
Another issue is the persistence of patriarchal norms and values that discriminate against women and marginalised groups. Despite making significant strides in education, employment, health, and social justice, women still face many barriers and challenges in accessing their rights and opportunities. For instance, according to UNICEF, India has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world (27%), which affects millions of girls’ lives and futures.
These issues are not only detrimental to India’s growth and development, but also to its global reputation and influence. As a rising power in Asia and beyond, India needs to showcase its leadership potential on various fronts such as climate change, digital innovation, peacekeeping, humanitarian aid, etc. However, if India continues to be dominated by men who have a generational gap and are not up to date with global trends, it will lose its credibility and relevance as a responsible actor in world affairs.
Therefore, it is imperative that India nurtures its youth leadership in education by providing them with quality learning opportunities that equip them with knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes that enable them to become effective changemakers in their respective domains.
One way that Indian schools can instill such qualities in children is by adopting an interdisciplinary approach that integrates different subjects such as science, technology, arts, humanities, etc., into a holistic curriculum that fosters critical thinking, creativity problem-solving, collaboration communication etc., These skills are essential for young leaders who need to adapt to changing situations, understand complex problems, and communicate their ideas clearly and persuasively.
Another way that Indian schools can nurture youth leadership is by exposing students to diverse perspectives and experiences that broaden their horizons and challenge their assumptions. This can be done through various activities such as field trips, guest lectures, workshops, projects, etc., that allow students to interact with people from different backgrounds, cultures, and fields. These activities can help students develop empathy, respect, tolerance, and appreciation for diversity and foster cross-cultural understanding and cooperation.
A third way that Indian schools can nurture youth leadership is by encouraging students to take action on issues that matter to them and their communities. This can be done through various platforms such as clubs, associations, competitions, campaigns, etc., that provide students with opportunities to express their opinions, share their ideas, learn from others, and make a positive difference. These platforms can help students develop confidence, initiative, responsibility and resilience as they face challenges and overcome obstacles.
However nurturing youth leadership does not happen overnight. It requires constant work and support from various stakeholders such as parents teachers peers mentors role models etc. It also requires patience understanding feedback encouragement recognition etc. It also requires courage vision passion perseverance etc. But most importantly it requires love care respect trust etc.
For youth leadership is not just about having power or influence or fame or money. It is about having a purpose or a vision or a passion or a mission. It is about having an impact or an influence or a legacy or a change. And these things come from within. They come from having faith in oneself in others in life itself.