The rising incidences of drug use among students in higher education institutions across India, particularly in Telangana, has emerged as a matter of serious concern. A drug racket that was busted recently at a reputed university in Hyderabad is not an isolated case but a glaring example of a trend that can no longer be ignored.

Many factors have contributed to this disturbing development: affluence without accountability; erosion of academic rigour; weakening of moral and cultural values, and a dearth of guidance and counselling. Collectively, these symptoms point to a deeper malaise-a fractured higher education ecosystem.

Caught in such an environment, students often lose motivation, discipline and direction, leading to derailment of their promising futures. There was a time when educational institutions were strongholds of moral instruction, intellectual development and cultural values. Today, however, many campuses offer a vastly different environment, one that compromises not just academic outcomes but the very character of young individuals.

For parents, the consequences are deeply painful. Despite investing lakhs or even crores in tuition and related expenses, what they often receive in return is not quality education but their wards getting exposed to a morally compromised campus culture. For society, the stakes are even higher. A generation that should be steering India toward progress is increasingly lost to addiction, indiscipline, and unemployability.

The way forward:

This crisis demands urgent and coordinated intervention. The University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) must step up and enforce strict oversight. Educational institutions must be held accountable not only for academic standards but also for maintaining campus safety, discipline, and cultural integrity. Parents, too, must make informed choices. Admissions should not be driven by brand value, glitzy infrastructure or foreign affiliations alone. What matters most is the character of the institution, its commitment to nurturing responsible, value-driven individuals.

If the spread of drug culture in universities and colleges is left unchecked, it will not only destroy individual lives but also weaken the very fabric of the country’s higher education system. Education must serve as a ladder to success and not a trapdoor into self-destruction. As India aspires to become a developed nation (Viksit Bharat) by 2047, its youth will play a defining role in shaping that future. Higher educational institutions must recognise this responsibility. They must take urgent steps to combat substance abuse and foster a campus culture rooted in discipline, moral values, and academic seriousness. It is only then can India truly unlock the potential of its next generation and ensure that its educational institutions are places of growth, not gateways to ruin.

(The writer is Chairperson, Board of Studies, Department of Economics, OU, Hyderabad)