The parents are a part of the problem

It is incredible that in the Sri Lankan family, children are loved and spoilt and then sacrifices are made to send children to distant prestigious schools, but parents lack the skills to instill moral and life skills on their children. After this expensive education, youth are completely lost not knowing how to find a suitable course for their skill and financial level, as well as a direction in which to study, without any knowledge of what they would like to do once they have achieved this goal.

The parents merely believe that the financial sacrifice is sufficient and that their time in trying to understand the unique set of problems their offspring face, is not forthcoming. It was particularly apparent recently when 3000 students went to the Human Rights Commission in Sri Lanka to protest at the unfair treatment meted out from the Z score fiasco, which was orchestrated as part of a Facebook campaign, with hardly a parent in sight to help them. This after an expensive education, whose results were what the dispute was about.

I am constantly faced with advising young people in their twenties about the options available to them, and realize that only if their parents in the formative years of the kids from say 12 to 18 gave them some direction and interest in some area, they could then pursue that particular course of study without coming to their mid 20s and look around for anything available not knowing what is possible and practical. Young people are not practical, as their demands are not congruent with their abilities. When they are offered jobs in keeping with what they can do, they are disappointed and upset that a better alternative is not forthcoming.

The parents owe it to their offspring to understand what is going on in their lives, rather than say the youth of today are different, they cannot understand their desired and then give up. The classic case being the Z score fiasco referred to.

It was important for parents to come for their children’s support. That would have moved the government to action and not delayed for 6 months. The parents by their very inaction gave the Government a breather to take their time over finding a resolution which is still not forthcoming. The students have suffered immensely due to the delay. The parents’ inaction cost their kids’ time money and possibly their future. It is as if they have run the race but stopped a few meters before the finish line and left their children in a state of limbo, without the final small push to put them over the edge. It is important that the students explain to their parents that their inaction has cost them, and that the cost of their education is wasted by this inability to comprehend the z score issue comprehensively to assist their wards.