In plain words
The joy of “Look, so many have passed!” does not arise in this person at all. He keeps in view only “Where is my number in this?” That is to say, with this kind of selfishness man makes no attempt whatever to recognise either the good of others or society. Without selfishness, man does not move even one step forward. Whatever he sees, whatever he says, whatever he thinks, whatever he experiences, he keeps his own selfishness alone in view. This selfishness must perish completely in students. In this wide world we must foster broad feelings, and those alone. But day by day these students are developing narrow feelings. This cannot be the distinction of education. The reason is that the ideas in this education are bringing about this kind of change.
In the past, students were few. Teaching was plentiful. Today students are many, and teachings few. The reason is that all are trying just to become students. But they enter college as seekers of learning. They turn into seekers of sense pleasures. Today no sacred freedom at all is to be seen in education. The mind of students does not stay steady even for a moment. With a mind full of this restlessness, it is very hard to make the right effort to study. In keeping with this, the government too gives no encouragement. When Bhārata won its independence, there were thirty crores who could not read or write. After independence came, by 1982-83 those without education had grown to forty-four crores. This number of the unlettered keeps on growing day by day; it is not getting smaller. If it goes on growing in this same way, there is every chance it will grow to fifty crores by the year 2000. Students are increasing. Educational institutions too are increasing. But the number of the unlettered too keeps on growing. The reason for this is that the students who enter keep dropping out from the very first, second and third classes. Students are leaving the educational institutions. No interest at all is growing in them for today's education.
The reason is: where there are students, there are no teachers. Where there are teachers, there are no students. They draw students into the educational institutions by setting out attractions of one sort or another, but such a thing as the attraction of learning is altogether nil in them. The reason is that the government set aside seven per cent of its funds in the Five-Year Plan. In the Sixth Plan this stood at three and a half per cent. So in the educational institutions there is no money for blackboards, for pieces of chalk.