One of a kind

Aravind had just got his board exam results .He made it! His parents were elated that their son had performed well. Aravind expected the rest of his holidays to be just fun. That evening his father calls him for a small chat. Aravind is surprised to find his entire family there. His dad asks him “So what have you thought about your future?". Aravind  is just a 10^th pass out, little does he know about what he wants to do. “I think engineering is a good option“ the uncle chips in. “although if he wants to take medicine is also fine” comments his aunt. “I have even given him an option of pursuing commerce, provided he is willing to try for C.A or law “ comments his dad. The entire family nods on the wide variety of choices they have provided this young 15 year old. They  call themselves generous for giving him so many choices and comment how that did not happen back in their time. What does he like to study? A big question for a 15 year old. Do we actually like what we study? Yes we do score an 90% in the subject…But do we actually like it? We have no answer for that question. We study because that is our subject and it is important to score marks in examinations .And why is that? Because our parents are experts in creating hell like simulations during holidays if we don’t.

Fast forward ten years later

The kid does become an mechanical engineering graduate from one of the so many universities in the country. And he is now placed in Infosys. What is a mechanical engineer doing in an IT job? No answer. So why did he study mechanical engineering in the first place? Because his amazing family told him that it was the best choice. So what does his family tell when he is in the IT job? Suddenly they disappear .The 24 year old has to now decide on what to do  with himself. This is the story of many engineers that dwell in our country. They don’t realize what they want in the appropriate age and by the time they realize that its too late. Family  does give advice when one is in an excellent position …But when you are stuck in that job you don’t want to be in , they just aren't there to get you out of that mess. Parents will blame all of it on failures in the past(which would be as old as not clearing an entrance exam)and the rest of the family including the so knowledgeable aunt and uncle will either shift their focus to the next generation(whose life is more interesting because the just passed out of school,and there is a lot more to advice ) or will end up consoling the poor parents . And who will console this 24 year old , the guy who actually lost everything in this whole melodrama? Nobody! .So whose fault is it that the boy lost out on his career. Family? No.They forced him to a limited career options because they knew that the scope to get a job in any other field in this country is low. The boy? No.he was just following instructions.

So whose fault is it?

It’s the education system in our country. Starting from preschool to collage everything in this country is faulty. The first thing parents teach their children is not to lie. The second they teach is “if that uncle calls tell I am not there”. It is simple. Indian education system does not give the slightest idea to a student on what he wants . They teach a lot of things. But never what they mean …only what is required, and often what is required is what comes in the exam.

Let me explain

A teacher in the Indian classroom first explains the theory completely. They give statements like “learning is important. Focus on the concept and nothing else”. And the next statement they give will be “take down important questions for exam”. In addition to this parents will make sure that the kid studies these questions with extra care. When the kid actually gets the question ‘so how is this used in daily life’ the teacher would reply “don’t ask silly questions and distract the class” and the parents would say “shut up and study”.

So at the end of formal education, the state of a student’s brain is as follows -

Creativity –destroyed,

 Application-destroyed,

 And memory-completely functional and exam ready.

Why is that most of the inventing takes place abroad? Why is that Indian students prefer to give an GRE to  a GATE? Because there is no research and development? No its because India does not encourage creativity. They prefer grades to genuine creativity and ability to apply. Why is that IIT’s are not the best in the world? Because of infrastructure? No! Because they are institutions that are formed on the above principle.

How does one get into IIT?Does one have to be intelligent, creative and possess enormous application skills? Its not that complicated, quiet simple actually, lock yourself with books and have the least interest in life. And yes one more thing, there will be a whole lot of coaching centers giving you material. Solve it .Sit with books for 18 hours a day for two years of your life. And at the end of it your reward is that your parents will be temporarily happy with you or rather as long as your grades in IIT don’t drop.

In this entire mess, a pathetic excuse of an education system ,does natural talent, creativity or application have a place? Nope.

Why is our country not that good at sports(with cricket as an exception)?Is it because we  have no talent? No it’s because those prodigies are now perusing engineering or medicine or commerce. Why don’t we have as many Nobel laureates as other countries ? Because we have no brains? No because we refuse to use them .We are happy as long as we get into a good collage followed by good job with good salary.

This is the harsh reality of our education system. So is there no hope for students in india?Not quiet

Friends, if you know what you want pursue it at all costs. And if you don’t ,explore all fields thereby discover yourself.

Depending on what you want ,family may discourage you .But. listen to no one but your heart. Live life to your fullest. Live it with no regrets. Write your own destiny and be one of a kind…