The room is full, but the learning is empty: pedagogy for the disengaged generation in Indian education

Purpose Student disengagement in Indian higher education has reached a critical threshold. This article examines the nature, dimensions and structural roots of disengagement in Indian commerce and business classrooms, arguing that the crisis stems not from student apathy but from a pedagogical model misaligned with the cognitive, social and motivational realities of contemporary learners. Design/methodology/approach This viewpoint article draws on a critical synthesis of established educational research, cognitive science and the author's decade of pedagogical practice in Indian commerce education, using frameworks from Freire (1970), Fredricks et al. (2004), Bloom et al. (1956) and Mark (2023), among others, to diagnose the conditions producing disengagement and propose a principled pedagogical response. Findings Three observable patterns characterise disengagement – selective wakefulness, the comprehension-performance paradox and the disappearance of curiosity – traced to five failures: the transmission model, examination-driven curricula, inadequate teacher preparation, unabsorbed digital disruption and an institutional accountability vacuum. The article proposes the ARC Model of Responsible Pedagogy – Activation, Relevance and Connection – as a theoretically grounded and practically implementable response. Practical implications The ARC Model provides faculty and policymakers with an immediately actionable framework for addressing student disengagement in Indian commerce education, applicable within existing institutional constraints. Originality/value This article makes an original contribution by theorising compliant disengagement as a distinctive Indian higher education phenomenon and advancing the ARC Model as a structured pedagogical framework with direct implications for faculty, institutional leaders and policymakers.