23% of Bangalore students on drugs: Case Study

Read this shocking piece of news in rediff today morning:

23% of Bangalore students on drugs: Study
A study, conducted among college students in Bangalore, has revealed that 23 per cent of over two lakh students studying in the tech capital are hooked to drugs.

The results of the study were shocking, said Karnataka Minister for Higher Education D H Shankarmurthy. The study was conducted by a private agency appointed by the state goverment.

The study further reveals that most of these students are from professional colleges.

Shankarmurthy said that the matter would be raised in both houses of the Karnataka assembly. The government will also discuss measures to tackle this problem.

Some college students told rediff.com that peddlers often sell drugs outside their college premises. Sometimes, addicted students themselves sell drugs to their friends.

According to the study, marijuana is a favourite among students, as it is cheaper compared to other drugs.

The Bangalore police are yet to register a case of drug abuse by students, said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Gopal B Hosur. However, he added that 19 cases have been registered against drug peddlers this year. Most peddlers are in the age group of 18 to 40 years.

However, colleges claim that they are doing their best to tackle the problem. According to them, the number of students addicted to drugs has reduced because of a constant vigil.

"We have been able to identify those students who are hooked on to drugs. These students are irregular and show no interest in academics. After identifying such students, we conduct counseling sessions for them," said the principal of a leading college.

"Most students, who are hooked to drugs, stay in hostels. Parental negligence and psycho-socio factors also contribute to this problem," said former vice chancellor of Bangalore University M S Thimappa.

I studied in Bangalore and finised my engineering from one of the reputed college here. That entitles me to be counted among those 2 Lac students under the study. Ocourse I can easily claim to be part of 77% who are given cleancheat by this study. But then I feel pained by this news. If by any chance this study correctly predicts the numbers then it is really an alarming figure and should be given urgent attention.

But then I have my own doubts about such study.

Most of the time we extrapolate figures. So lets assume the sample space for study consisted of 1000 students and they found 230 drug addicts. You can easily extrapolate this figure to 23% and then generally attach it with the whole population.

Data interpretation theory tells us most of the time these extrapolations do not lend us anywhere close to actual situation. And with something which involves Human being, there are more chances for this deviation. Our habits and actions are influenced by so many factors - social, econical, political and last but not least mental. So it is important that sample space for such studies is sufficiently broad.

When you talk about student, the group constitues of atleast 33% girls [with all those reservations in place and given that we are talking about professional courses]. Did the sample space actually took this into account. Were 1/3rd of the participant under study girls? Or did we simply assume that they are too innocent to be indulged in something like this.

My experience from my college days has been mixed kind. While in my class of 60 odd students, I can surely boast of atleast 90% who did not even smoke; forget drugs. While there were surely some who looked indulged in drugs. They are always there. We can not deny this. But then it was as good a sample space it can be. And my study totally contradicts this.

Such studies can really affect life of a lot of students. Remember Our PM had to issue a statement requesting the world "not to brand Indian terrorist just coz some of us were caught indulged in unlawful activities". Such branding is so easy to happen and only when you face it you know the pain and difficulties. We had our share of time being North Indian Student here, And still face it sometime. It does happen sometime.

Things are too difficult sometimes to be so easily termed in one way.
They should make sure they have sound grounds before tabling any such report. And that they should put it in detail in public.