Education In India.. Over-rated?

India is renowned for tourist destinations, fantastic food and... and bright students! If you go abroad and say "I studied in India", everyone says.. "Wow! That must have been tough!" Indian Education is notorious for over burdening students with a load of facts which will never make a difference in their future!

So, what problems do I have about Indian Education? My opinion really developed in Singapore, where I lived and studied for 3 years. Although, academically my development might have been stunted in those 3 years... my personality and the way I looked at the world changed a whole lot thereafter! Indian education is very one dimensional, the only dimension being academic excellence. The syllabi are advanced and students that age probably don't even understand what they're reading! They just memorize and replicate that in their exam paper.

I had a very difficult time tuning myself back to the rigours of this system when I was in class 9. There are 2 "centralized" exams in class 10 and 12 (What so many people call "crucial years!") It was just too damn boring! You need to have loads of focus and absolutely no distractions what so ever to get yourself out of this system unscathed. It's just studying a pile of books - and whatever you study will not really help you in the future. Why is this system sucking the interest out of students?

This is why. Marks are given precedence over everything. So, schools have to make more students get loads of marks. A school's performance is based on the record of its students in those centralized exams. Schools will thus, never compromise on results. Consequently, it is the students who suffer.

A well rounded individual is one who not only gets judged by the marks that he/she gets. It's really your personality that has to be developed at schools. When we are children, our brains are like clay.. they can be moulded in any which way.. personalities can be developed. Instead, all this system of education does is impart textual facts... which are not the be all and end all of learning.

I remember reading somewhere, that education is just not just an assimilation of facts. It is gaining knowledge. I also believe that it should be all about understanding, interpreting and anticipating situations which are associated with real life. Very less or no importance is given to extra curricular activities in India.

What can be done to change all this now? I am dumbfounded when someone asks me that. That said, the IB (International Baccalaureate) has a good approach. The curriculum really allows schools to develop personalities. The academics begin in the business end of school days (classes 9 through 12), where the student is not only expected to score good grades but also is expected to excel in the practical side of things too!
Indian Education must ensure that it doesn't remove every iota of life from the very future of India.. the students!

Practical education, hands on stuff and trying to dilute the effect of marks on the future can be ways to improve the system. There has to be a revamp and it can be done in a graded way.. like the reservation of seats is being done at the IIMs!.. little by little every year.

When we deal with the future generation, we deal with young minds who will make decisions for the future of the nation. When we mould their brain in such a rigid way and make them suffer in the latter stages of their life.. it is neither fair on them or the nation herself!

Which forces me to conclude that.. Indian Education is Over-Rated. It is simply unacceptable to call this an educational system which produces smart individuals as they are just as good as the authors of the books that they've read!

I can go on and on.. but I'll stop right here! You must have got the point by now.

Don't know what I'll write next... might be a while before I do. CYA!