Student migration: Parents living life on high alert

On the other day, an anxious parent contacted this writer, to inform that his twin daughters, had got admission to a prestigious university in South India for engineering studies. But he had also heard a lot of negative reports about the drug culture prevailing in that university. The direct question posed was, how safe will my daughters be? That reminded this writer about another incident, when a senior colleague accompanied him on a visit to a few Ivy League universities. His son had got admission into one university of repute, but the wife was reluctant to send him as she feared that he would end up marrying a white woman! This officer had the embarrassing habit of rushing to any Indian student that he noticed, in the university, and after an exchange of pleasantries, would directly ask them, what are the chances of an Indian boy marrying a white girl? At last, one Indian student bluntly told him that such a possibility was very remote as the general perception was that Indian boys are highly pampered by their mothers and hence a spoilt lot. But Indian girls are preferred by white boys as they are assured of great care and devotion! Drugs, alcohol, and sex outside marriage appear to be the fears inside all Indian parents when their wards go to universities in different places in India and abroad.

Today’s parents are literally living on the edge, as students decide on their own as to where and which country they will go to for the next level of education. While the most favoured nation is undoubtedly the USA, studying in India appears to be least favoured as government-run universities are politics-ridden (with VC to last grade employee being politically affiliated) and private universities are just money-leeching enterprises. Quality education, original research, path-breaking inventions and discoveries, and recognition of pure merit, are unfortunately unheard of in our universities, hence the exodus to foreign universities. To add to the discomfiture is the spreading of drug culture on our educational campuses. No doubt universities in the West are also drug-afflicted, notorious for frat parties, binge drinking, and college-town bars. Whether students are relying on drugs for recreation, to stay up late for studying, or as a way of coping with mental health issues, and stress, drug abuse among college students is a matter of great concern for parents. But we should not forget that they are college-age adults. When it comes to alcohol use, the percentage of college students that have reported having symptoms of alcohol abuse is staggeringly high. 80% of college students in the US say that they have abused alcohol.

 
Large-scale North American surveys show that the annual prevalence of illicit substance use in university student populations has grown gradually. The US National Monitoring the Future study reported that the annual prevalence of cannabis use among university students was at a historic high level.

The transition to university is gradually getting associated with peaks of substance use, now, a phenomenon all over the world. For many youngsters, attending university or college coincides with the transition into adulthood and the development of new social networks, and may represent the first period in their lives where they live independently and without direct parental supervision. During this period most students live away from home for the first time and so become more financially independent and self-reliant as a consequence. New friends are made and old friends from school are left behind, as the individual begins to forge a new adult identity, away from parental influence. Peer and romantic interactions become more. Thus, any university, anywhere in the world, can therefore be seen as a specific ‘risk environment’ where cultural and environmental factors including distance from parents and the interconnected nature of student life can result in drug experimentation to more involved drug use. Associated with drug use is the problem of risky sexual behaviours, promiscuity, unprotected sex, and unwanted sexual activity. 

After the USA, the most preferred destination- universities are in Europe. Many Indian students are flocking to European universities, including very low-rated institutions, in small countries, which do not have any international repute. Cocaine is, after cannabis, the second most commonly used illicit drug in Europe. A record 303 tons of cocaine was seized by EU Member States in 2021. Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain continue to be the countries reporting the highest volumes of seizures, reflecting the importance of these countries as entry points for cocaine trafficking to Europe. In 2022, the quantity of cocaine seized in Antwerp, Europe’s second-largest seaport, rose to 110 tons from 91 tons in 2021, with volumes seized increasing annually since 2016. Cocaine addiction is a great risk that students will have to encounter.

The UK is the most sought-after destination by students after the USA. A national survey in the UK in 2018 reported that 56% of respondents had used drugs, and Cannabis was the most frequently taken drug. However, ecstasy, nitrous oxide, and cocaine had all been used by most of the drug-using students at some point. The 2017 Government Drug Strategy in England emphasised that Colleges and Universities had an important role to play in supporting the health and welfare of their students. In early 2022 Universities UK (UUK) announced that it wished to set out a common approach to reduce harm from drug use. Nobody is speaking about the eradication of the drug menace, the approach is only harm reduction.

Ultimately, whether it is India, the USA, the UK, or Europe, the risk factors associated with university education, are gaining uniformity. Parents have to reconcile with the harsh reality that universities can also be cesspools of many vices, as also breeding grounds for many dreaded illicit habits. One professor summed it up succinctly “We are here only to impart education, not supervise their morals, ethics, and character. They are all young adults, who know what to do with their lives.”

The author is former Director General of National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics