“I am a student studying in ICSE Board. I was up late the previous night for the board exams two months later. And thus I was dozing off in school today. I don’t understand what they teach because the teachers go so fast, and when I’ve no option left, I rely on that 3 letter word which also means cup-MUG.

So as usual, I was sleeping while the teacher was explaining about some weird concept. I seemed the least interested, but then the teacher said something-“THIS WILL COME FOR ATLEAST 10 MARKS IN YOUR EXAM.“I woke up with a jolt and quickly copied the method to do the sum. I was desperate to do well, because I was tired of listening to my parents when they say that to get a good job, I have to get into a good college. To get into a good college, I have to get a minimum of 98 % in the boards. It’s easier said than done. People feel that if you do not study for at least 10 hours a day, in grade 10, it means he’s just not smart enough. Not everyone can bear that physical and mental trauma of staying up so late. My life is over, plagued with these strenuous studies. School homework, tests, the same for the innumerable tuitions, how much pressure can an average child take?”

These are the words of a normal child, studying in the Indian Education System.

Why does the child feel like this? Any guesses?

Could be that he faces mental issues, could be that he feels lonely, or maybe the family matters aren’t looking up. There could be innumerable possibilities. But, it could also be that the pressure is an external cause, not due to himself or his parents, but maybe the school he’s studying in?

However, the school isn’t at fault. They teach according to a curriculum prescribed by a HIGH COMMAND in New Delhi. Yes, most probably, the education board.

It is said that the Indian education system has erased the ghosts of its past, by including more extra curricular activities, a more focus on understanding concepts, among other things. But we are far from saying that our Indian education System has completely evolved and is one of the best. There are so many problems, which still bite and plague the system.

If we look at the words of this very child above, the first obvious issue is the pressure on children. From school teachers, tuition teachers, parents, society, it all matters whether you do well or not, it doesn’t matter whether you actually understood or not, whether you have enjoyed learning, no, just do anything and get full marks.

Similar to the aforementioned issue is the stress on marks and grades, where even a child just studies for marks, and marks, and marks. He doesn’t bother( majority of them), to do some research on other topics, to be aware of the happenings of the world. He just limits himself to the 200 pages of the textbook, because he wants marks, nothing will happen if he researches about other topics, right?

Current affairs like increasing crimes against women, economic slowdown, the most important- COVID-19, no sign of it at all. There should be a subject called current affairs, where the students are kept abreast of the happenings. A weighty syllabus complicates matters further. Why do they even keep such a ginormous syllabus, they can cover little by little in the previous years.

These are just the problems with those who are getting education. What about the rural areas? The farmers plight is so miserable that they don’t allow their children to go to school, they need them to work in the fields. Yes, India’s literacy rate has skyrocketed from 13% at independence to 74% according to 2011 Census, but we yet have a long way to go.

Another problem is that, even in the government schools, the facilities aren’t up to the mark, as those in private schools. Only the rich and upper middle class can afford to send their kids to an IB school with top-notch facilities. The rural children have to study with five people on benches, sometimes in the open, with simple slates for writing.

The Constitution provides for free and compulsory education for children up to the age of 14 years, in that case we should have had at least 90% literacy. Instead, the government should actually fund education and ensure QUALITY LEARNING reaches the rural areas and that pressure is not put on students.

The NEP is out, and it promises many changes, like scrapping board exams, vocational learning, coding from 6th standard. This may seem exciting at the first glance, but this is just a visionary policy. As many other policies in the start, it may not get implemented soon, although it has been promised the needful will be done by 2022-23.

If we don’t provide quality education, how will the children learn to thrive in the real world? It is because of this education system and lesser job opportunities, that so many students migrate abroad, to lead a luxurious life. The poor and illiterate are left here, trying to catch up. If we improve our education system. No brain drain, our economy improves. Then our country will rise, then we will develop by leaps and bounds, I will be proud of my country, and with a sense of satisfaction, say “JAI HIND“.

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