Is Indian education system too harsh?

India's education system is highly competitive and over -stretched. A cohesive policy and a change in social attitudes are required to accommodate the aspirations of its vast young population.

Veena's funeral

In a Delhi crematorium, a family gathered around the funeral pyre to conduct the last rites of a 17 year old girl. Veena  (name changed) felt so shattered with her grades of the secondary school leaving examination that she decided to kill herself.

Veena’s grades were not good enough to get admission in a good college. India’s higher education system is extremely competitive: the cut –off percentage (qualifying grade) for one of Delhi’s top college  announced this week stood  over 98% for subjects like economics, literature and history. There is a similar demand for other subjects.

At the Delhi University, we see thousands of students queuing up to buy admission forms for the University’s 70,000 odd seats. By any estimate, it is a big number in  any country, but in India, chances of making through to a decent college is one in five. 

Deepak tells us: “I have scored 89%.  I am still not in a hope to get admission in one of these colleges. The pressure is obvious.”

Where does the pressure come from?

Abdul Mabood

Delhi University has over 80 colleges affiliated to it. However, most students are under tremendous social pressure to make it to the top ranking colleges because they feel it is a matter of prestige to study in one of best colleges, says Sandeep Sharma, principal of ARSD college.

In a very quiet neighborhood in south Delhi, we catch up with Abdul Mabood, director of a NGO called Snehi. He has ben running a helpline to counsel students and their parents in distress for the past 17 years.

The phone at his office never stops ringing. Abdul says: “many parents who couldn’t meet their goals in thier lives want to meet that expectations through their child. And, if they find that expectation is shattering they (parents) put a lot of pressure on the child." 

He blames the education system in the country, which he describes as faulty. He says it's money driven and  stifles creativity in a child. He says:  "the schools have to just inject the syllabus and nothing else. That is how you will not get a child that has saved his or her creativity or innocence, cultural understanding, civic sense, care for others. The schools teach (promote) sheer, horrible and cut –throat competition.” Indian education system, he says  “is  killing its children.”

He says that students will benefit more if they built more quality institutions for higher studies or improve the standard of education in universities and colleges in other cities and towns of India so that students don’t have to migrate to bigger cities.

Demographic dividends will be hard to come by.

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India has one of the largest growing middle class populations in the world.   A good education is often seen as a passport to a quality life and even a way out of poverty for many. It can dramatically change the fortunes of a family.

However, access to good education in India is a privilege of those who can afford it. In rural India, state run schools are in a dilapidated condition and there are serious shortages of teachers.  Also, ability to speak good English is a strong criterion for most corporate jobs and other blue-collar jobs in cities –a skill that is mostly confined to the urban middle classes.

According to an estimate, India will soon have a fifth of the world’s working-age population. The Economist says India will add 124 million people to its working –age population over the next decade, and that figure will soar to one billion by 2032. However, Indian has abysmally failed to create quality jobs in the second half  of the last decade. The jobs in manufacturing sector are scarce due to lack of investment.

Clearly, if India wants  to get dividends of its vast human resources, it needs to educate its population on technical skills. It is about time for policy makers to rethink India’s education policy.  The formal education system that exists is long and theory based - it doesn’t guarantee jobs. Higher professional education is very expensive and remains out of bounds for the majority of Indians. 

India needs more vocational schools, where young people can be trained on practical skills after completing basic education.   Like its neighbor China, it needs to create more industrial jobs.

If India’s unemployment figure in India begins to soar, it will create  great deal of disillusionment amongst its huge working –age population, which might create massive social unrest in the country.