Teens root for a world of change in 2017

Sakshi Jain,
19, Delhi

Personal: I'd like to see myself as a more self-confident, self-reliant and an independent person. I procrastinate a lot, and I need to learn how to stop putting things off.
School/College: College life is when you begin to define yourself. It's about finding who you are more than getting a degree. So, it's crucial to get an opportunity to try out different subjects that we like. Being a student at a technical institute, I'd like us to have a more technology-oriented teaching process instead of a syllabus-oriented one. Students need to be given the opportunity to come up with more innovative research projects. If we're exposed to subjects we like, we can do much better ahead.
National: The entire political system needs to be changed. A law passed for the common good should be appreciated by everyone, including other politicians. In order to realise their selfish motives, politicians have forgotten that they're here for the people.
International: Peace is a long-needed change. Having international superiority, going to war, killing innocents and terrorism—how can these benefit anyone?

David Francisco,
18, Mumbai

Personal: I think it would be great if I could break free from the control of machines. Discipline and orderliness in every aspect of life, wouldn't hurt too.
School/College: I wish we had more flexibility in terms of what we are allowed to wear to college.
National: Our country needs to be more tolerant and accepting, be it personal, religious, political views, or people's lifestyle choices. We also need more stringent laws against rapes, murders, eve-teasing and
cyberbullying.
International: The world needs to realise that terrorism is a double-edged sword and that all the countries need to work together to snuff out this evil. We also need to realise that we have only one planet, and we all need to do our bit to preserve it.

Sudiksha Jain,
17, Mumbai

Personal: I would like to let go of the pressure to always strive to be perfect. I want to learn to embrace my flaws and my mistakes.
School/College: Instead of focusing on textbook definitions and long answers, our education system should give students credit for understanding concepts. It would be nice if students were taught respect, kindness, humility and empathy as well as important life skills — how to pay taxes and manage finances, how to write cheques and how to give interviews for colleges and jobs.
National: I'd like to see Indians become more accepting and tolerant of each other's points of view and cultures. We also need more awareness of gender equality and the LGBTQ community.
Our country's chalta hai attitude also needs to change. It is the attitude we adopt when we cannot achieve meaningful perfection in a task.
Internationally: We need to find a way to end all forms of hunger, and build a world where no child ever goes to sleep on an empty stomach, a world where no adult goes to work without eating a healthy, nutritious breakfast, and no one ever has hunger pangs, a world that is content with what it has.

Sumona Kajli,
19, Delhi

Personal: I'd like to be more self-reliant and disciplined in my daily routine, which will help me succeed.
School/College: Equal rights to education for all is significant in the advancement of the society, for everyone to be able to exercise their rights and get equal opportunities. This will help in the eradication of poverty in the long run.
National: The grave issue, which our country faces today is discrimination against women, who are subject to social evils — female infanticide, polygamy, sexual harassment... I'd like equality and safety for women; we need to build a safer India for all.
International: Terrorism is slowly incapacitating the entire world. Fear has taken a toll on people. They are losing their faith in humanity. In 2017, I hope this evil can be curbed, so that we can live a happy and safe life. Corruption too, is weakening the world economy as it widens the gap between the rich and the poor, and is a major reason for the increase in poverty and the economy of countries destabilising. We need to get it in control.

Enola Gonsalves,
15, Mumbai

Personal: In 2017, I would love to spend more time with nature, go trekking, camping and partaking in other outdoor activities.
School/College: I wish the subjects could be more practical-based rather than theory.
National: Our country ought to work more towards global warming. We need to recycle more and encourage the ban of plastic to protect our flora and fauna. We could work towards bringing about communal harmony, tolerance with respect to caste, creed, race and colour, as a nation.
International: The world needs to see more love and peace, which will bring joy and hope.

Prabhav Srivastava,
16, Bengaluru

Personal: It would be great if teens had a platform to express their thoughts and views without any hesitation.
School/College: What we need in our schools is that they help us follow our dreams, and not make our dreams. Schools fail to see the artist in the engineer they are trying to mould, or the dancer in the doctor. If we get more support from our schools, we will be able to achieve a better life.
National: In India, there is a lot of corruption among our politicians and leaders. We need to remove corruption from the system — a change that would benefit the country as a whole.
International: It would be great if we could have some sort of 'merging' of all the various cultures present around the world — a global unity, so that we all can learn from each other about different lifestyles, education facilities and more.

Alisha Pais,
16, Mumbai

Personal: I'd like to dedicate more time to my family and to myself — to find time to do the things I love — dance, or play a sport. I'd like to be more organised in my work and manage my time more efficiently, to interact more with others and keep friendships.
School/College: We should also have more presentations and interactive sessions, instead of mugging up for exams (which they should space out). Learning life skills, having interactive lectures, using technology and allowing us to combine subjects from two different streams would be nice.
National: The government should increase infrastructure in drought-prone and other areas that need it, instead of focusing on metro cities. Better quality mid-day meals should be given to schools, and better facilities should be made available to the elderly. We need to improve our healthcare facilities.
Internationally: I wish that 2017 brings some sort of stop to the Syrian war and that the United Nations can do something to curb terrorism and the problems that migrants are facing. More attention should be given to our environment too, especially the reduction of carbon emissions, which is a big problem today.

Sana Khanyari,
16, Mumbai

Personal: This year I'd like to celebrate the little things in life that matter, manage my time better, eat healthier and tend more to the needs of the less fortunate.
School/College: We should have a more rounded system of evaluating students — one that includes under-appreciated subjects like dramatics and physical education in order to provide a more accurate evaluation of the students' abilities. I'd also like to see a change in the ideology of educationists who believe in the hierarchy of subjects, thanks to which academic excellence is greatly rewarded while brilliance in sports is hardly recognised.
Teachers can play a pivotal role in imbibing the qualities of acceptance, tolerance, unity and patience in their students. Rather than discussing tabooed subjects like that of sexual assault against women and the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in hushed voices, encouraging them to boldly express their thoughts and views could serve as an important instrument in securing the rights of such sections of our society.
National: Corruption is a problem that is eating away our society from the inside out. What is the point of development and prosperity in the country if the benefits do not trickle down to the masses?
International: Global warming is an alarmingly important issue being faced by the world. We need to alter our ways immediately and work towards the rehabilitation of our environment. Nations must work together for the development of mankind as a whole and the United Nations ought to be made stronger for the preservation of peace. Lastly, steps to curb unemployment, poverty, female infanticide and acts of violence committed against oppressed sections of society must necessarily be taken in the coming year.