The university. A degree, a job (II)

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Auraha is a village in Nepal dedicated to rice cultivation that usually goes unnoticed by travelers seeking the mysticism of the Himalayas. Located in Chitwan National Park, men and women coexist with elephants, rhinos, and tigers. And despite the attempt to circumscribe activity away from the wild territory, the night, which knows no walls, presents itself as a gateway to paradise for the elderly rhino, who lives condemned to seek provisions outside the perimeter after having lost hegemony to a younger specimen. It happens that, at dusk, the brutal and slow quadruped plunges into the river to cool off and, later, once the light completely fades, sets off for the rice fields away from the control of the leader. The rhino then walks at a brisk pace without fearing any consequences. Sometimes it even crosses the main street before the astonished gaze of the neighbors. Only the peasants await it around bonfires in order to drive it away and thus try to save the harvest. Meanwhile, a hundred meters from the fields where the rhino ravages in its path, sisters Sabina and Ashmita (6 and 8 years old) sleep in the room they share with two other girls from the orphanage. The natural disasters of recent years have impoverished and stolen the future of hundreds of children in Nepal. This has led to a proliferation of foster homes for minors. A very high percentage of these shelters are not regulated by any organization. They are supervised by individuals who have seen, in the circumstance of homeless children, an opportunity to increase income. Sabina and Ashmita got up at 6:30. Still in their pajamas, they went to the porch, where they finished their school homework while the cook and a couple of volunteers prepared breakfast; always the same dish: rice, stewed lentils, and flour buns. Then they dressed in their school uniform and went to class. The way to school is friendly. The sun caresses the crops. Bicycles go up and down through places that make you want to stay. Elderly people spend time under the portal. There they chat and will practically not move until bedtime. The welcome the children give the teacher every morning comes from the heart and is moving. Inside the classroom, they are barefoot and sit on pillows around low tables that they share among four or five. Sabina and Ashmita learn quickly, participate, and are confident in their abilities. They are ready and cheerful. One wants to be a teacher, the other a doctor. I am convinced that they would become adults with an overflowing vocation. They would put all their soul and more. But that cannot be. When Sabina and Ashmita turn 18, they will not have the option to continue studying and will have to return to their family. The family that has not been able to support them. That means they will have to work at anything to bring money home and humanity will have lost two consciences dedicated to making a better world. The university will not have been up to the task of not having been able to generate an opportunity for the two sisters.

Johannes and Jenni are a German couple in their early twenties. Both have embarked on a trip around the world. After traveling a good part of Asia, they have jumped to South America. Jenni took a break from her studies and Johannes was not willing to accept just any job after graduating in engineering. We talked for long stretches between jolts on the bus that took us from Manali to Keylong (India). Jenni was the most belligerent regarding the university model and the labor model. She argues that both are oriented towards inoculating fear and delimiting the natural evolution of people. Proof of this, she says, is that a good part of her classmates reveal feeling envy when they see the publications and photos of the trip on social media, but in turn, they do not dare to take the step. They do not dare because, they say, they are afraid of losing what they have. It is not strange, the fear of losing is a characteristic of Western society. Consumption decapitates self-confidence and forces one to depend and generate expectations in order to maintain and expand material treasure, and from there frustration and physical and mental exhaustion derive. Connie and Polly, English, are 24 years old and have a law degree. Adrian, a 29-year-old Frenchman, is a lumberjack. Alex, also 29 and Austrian, has an engineering degree. We met at the border crossing between Cambodia and Laos while waiting for a vehicle to take us to Paksé. I asked them what had motivated them to undertake the trip and from the different answers I extracted three common points: they do not want a life marked by competition, they are looking for an alternative to routine, and they do not plan to surrender to stress. And it is precisely stress that ended with eight university students who opted for suicide in just a year and a half, in Bristol, England. Although the management speaks of mental health problems outright and has chosen to invest 1 million pounds in the prevention of new cases, Bristol is not an isolated case. According to an article by Quim Aranda (Ara, March 30, 2018), in just 10 years, suicide cases among students of English universities have multiplied by 5 –the last record speaks of 144 cases in 2016–. Curiously, in the same period, mental illnesses, anguish, and stress have multiplied by five, and one of the main consequences is the resignation and abandonment of studies –between 2010 and 2016 there has been an increase of 210% reaching 1,180 students–. What is the cause? Isn't the university the one that promises a future full of happiness? It is pointed out that the cause is a combination of factors: social and economic pressure and the consumption of drugs in order to improve academic results. Despite taking into account that these exposed cases –specific but extensible to all countries– are not enough to draw conclusions, it seems to me that, at least, it is possible to question the role of the university in society. Put another way: I believe that the university has forgotten its humanist condition. And unfortunately, we will be weak as long as the university continues allied to market dynamics instead of positioning itself as a counterweight. And we will continue to be weak as long as it continues to postulate itself as a guide for professional growth instead of doing so as a guide for personal growth. Faced with today's challenges, I would like the university to once again be an organ of inspiration, just as it was yesterday for transformation processes around the world. But that, today and always, requires much more than a simple equation.