The Future of Indian Education

The scandalisation that the country saw recently in the examination system might be nudging us towards the fact that the Indian examination system urgently needs to be changed. The continuous cancellation of exams and rising cheating cases are merely administrative flaws but they are causing significant anguish in students. Few powerful and high-ranked authorities misuse their power and benefit less deserving students which affects hardworking and more deserving candidates. This repeated cancellation of exams leads to demoralizing students, filling them with uncertainty and anxiety. 

Individuals who dream of becoming doctors enter the profession with selflessness, dedicating their whole lives and energy to saving and serving humanity. As a primary step, these angels on earth, prepare for the NEET exam, hoping their dreams will be fulfilled after clearing this exam. This year almost 24 lakh students appeared for the NEET 2024 but they never thought that on the 5th of May 2024, their years of hard work would be questioned and their future would be at stake as NEET-UG faced allegations of question paper leak. News reports claimed that exam papers were sold for Rs 50 lakh before the examination, with a few teachers and student groups involved. Amidst this controversy, the exam result declared on 4th June added fuel to the fire due to the mathematically impossible score of a few students, which further caused legal challenges. Later, in July 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that there were no large-scale leaks of paper so no need for re-examination. 

As parents and students began to find some relief after NEET, a new shocking piece of news crashed them. The most renowned exam UGC NET was canceled within 24 hours of its commencement leaving 11.2lakh students who spent 8 hours minimum per day to prepare for this exam in utter dismay. After all the years of preparation, hard-earned money being spent, and sacrificing all the home facilities all the students could get was see the exam being cancelled.

Within hours of cancellation, social media erupted with students' posts expressing their outrage, disappointment, hopelessness, frustration, and utter cheating by the system. A social media user posted, that the UGC NET exam was a hope that he would become a professor, but due to the crippling educational system, their parent’s hard earn money was all wasted. The frustration of students could be seen in every part of the country as they were protesting and demanding a fair, honest, and robust system.

Exam Cancellation Impact on Students:

After completing the 12th Board these 16-17-year-old students shift to a new place to compete with millions of other students. Kota and Jaipur in Rajasthan, and Delhi are the main coaching-oriented locations and are tier 1 cities making them expensive. 70% of these students belong to middle-class families making it difficult to afford costly hostels and high-class coaching institutes. Still, parents arrange fees through education loans or by using their lifetime of savings, PPFs, etc. Despite after passing all these daunting challenges and preparing for examinations day and night, the sudden cancellation of the exams leaves these students disheartened, and disillusioned, filling them with regret.

This ongoing crisis should nudge us to ponder on a crucial question: 

Is the collapse of entrance exams in India hinting at a broader issue? 

Let's see through this article the impact of competitive exams on students and how they can shift towards more “unconventional” career options.

What drives the allure of competitive exams for students?

Lakhs of students every year prepare for various exams in India, such as SSC, PCS, UPSC, IIT, NEET, UGC-NET, JEE Advanced, Banking, CA-CS, CLAT, and many more, these exams are seen as gateways to a reputed career in medicine, engineering, chartered accountant, law and others. Students may be attracted to the security of government jobs, financial stability, retirement benefits, and social prestige after clearing these exams. Any individual residing in India must have heard once in your life from your parents that entering a Government job will provide them security of lifetime. Hence they are encouraged to work extremely hard to get into one of the positions. Parental pressure, peer pressure, and societal pressure compel students to achieve higher scores in academics and to get a settled life by becoming professionally successful forcing them to go through this rigorous examination system. Students when they go through intense preparation and successfully clear the exam are then only viewed as a testament to their hard work, intelligence, and dedication, which further enhances the appeal of these exams.

There are numerous reasons why students get attracted to these exams, let's unpack a few of them:

1. Entry to Renowned Institutions: Once students clear the exams they get the chance to study in pioneering colleges of India such as IITs, NITs, AIIMS, IIMs, and other premier institutes, which are known for their quality education, top infrastructure, and placements in prestigious companies around the world with an appealing pay scale.

2. Less Fees and Higher Financial Aid: The UGC-NET exam provides scholarships to students once they clear the JRF exam, The CSIR NET exam also provides scholarships as well as a chance to pursue PhD from top universities of India. After clearing NEET exams students get an opportunity to get admission to prestigious medical colleges in India with nominal yearly fees and hostel facilities, which reduces the burden on parents.

3. Job Security: Clearing the competitive exam with a high rank provides a chance to get positioned at higher departments in government sector jobs. Lifelong job security, pension benefits after retirement, housing facilities, Vehicles, and other various facilities allure students towards these competitive exams.

4. Social Prestige: Society appreciates those students who clear the competitive exams in the first attempt, it is seen as a mark of excellence and brings recognition and respect from peers, family, and society. In pursuit of this social prestige parents put pressure on children to prepare for these competitive exams.

The Dark Side of Competitive Exams: 

Every coin has two sides, these competitive exams provide students attractive benefits such as high-paying jobs, retirement benefits, paid vacations, life-long security, house facilities, and various other benefits. However on the other hand these exams have a darker hidden truth, which compels students to push themselves in a whirlwind from which it's difficult to come out.

1. Increase Mental Pressure: These competitive exams need rigorous preparation throughout the year, if students do not get selected in their first attempt they give multiple attempts to clear the exams which leads to immense mental pressure and impacts them emotionally. Studies have revealed that 75% of students have reported heightened stress levels caused by attempting the exams many times. According to a survey by the National Education Association, 68% of students experience lower self-esteem after failing a competitive exam more than once (NEA, 2021).

2. Increasing Suicide Cases: Students struggle due to rising mental pressure, repeated failure attempts, and societal expectations leading to a negative approach toward their lives. According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau, the number of student’s suicide cases have increased from 12,526 in 2020 to 13,089 in 2021. Although the report does not provide the detailed statistics, it however raises a concern as so many students have taken their own lives due to increasing pressure and failure in examinations. This alarming figure underscores the severe impact that academic pressures and perceived failures can have on the mental health and well-being of students.

Limited Seats and Fierce Competition: In 2022, 16.14 lakh students appeared for the NEET exam, while 21.15 lakh students for the JEE Main exam. Each year, nearly 1-1.2 million young Indians attempt the IIT entrance exam, fully aware about the fact that only about 7-12% have a chance of gaining admission into one of the 23 IITs. This data highlights the intense competition the Indian students face for very limited seats.

Vast Syllabus of Exam: 16-17 minor and major subjects have to be prepared for UPSC exams, for NEET & JEE students have to focus on Coaching materials, NCERT books, previous years' questions, and much more. Due to the extensive syllabus, they don't get sufficient time to revise which causes them to lose confidence to appear in exams.

As the reliability of entrance exams wanes, many students and their families are beginning to question the traditional paths and what these exams represent. The social prestige and advantages of these competitive exams are no longer compelling when compared to the uncertainties and pressures of the exam system. This introspection is prompting us towards a broader exploration of alternatives to these exams.

Why Unconventional Careers Are Gaining Popularity Against Competitive Exams?

Due to these ongoing scandals in exams, cheating cases, cancellations, and exam papers being leaked, students and parents have acknowledged that it's time to think beyond this illusion. Students need to reevaluate their career prospects and leave these unfair and unpredictable exams by approaching non-traditional career paths.

Digital platforms and Start-up ecosystems have changed the thought process of people, and are increasingly accepting remote work which has opened up new opportunities for everyone. Careers in digital marketing, content creation, and entrepreneurship are gaining popularity because they offer flexibility, personal fulfillment, and economic growth. Students are changing their perspective now and moving towards skill-based learning, exploring new fields beyond the traditional framework. Let’s discuss the main points that make unconventional career paths a smarter choice than the traditional competitive exams:

1. Innovation and Flexibility: Jobs that have flexible working hours and innovation lead to greater satisfaction and productivity. In Google Office, employees have flexibility in working hours and an open environment to share their ideas and the result is maximum productivity. Unconventional career paths provide students a chance to showcase their creativity and inspire them to think outside the box.

2. Diverse Opportunities: While traditional career options provide students limited opportunities, unconventional careers span a wide range of fields such as start-ups, digital marketing, content creation, YouTube vlogger, and many more. According to a NASSCOM report, India now has the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world, after the US and China. In 2023, India added more than 1,300 new tech startups, bringing the total number of active tech startups in the country to between 25,000 and 27,000. This emerging sector has great opportunities for students as they can develop their entrepreneurial skills, start their businesses on a small scale, and partner with other flourishing businesses.

3. Skill Development: Nowadays various universities and colleges are focusing on practical skills and emphasize that students should implement their academic knowledge into the practical world. Unconventional career options provide students the chance to work on their skill set as the rapidly changing job market values creativity and hands-on experience. While the competitive exams mostly demand theoretical skills, and analytical skills the creativity of students is suppressed in this process.

4. Changing Societal Attitudes: Parents are now urging their children to consider non-traditional career options due to the ongoing controversy surrounding these exams and their detrimental effects on children's health. They have realized that they need to change their traditional thinking patterns, changing social views of people who were previously fixated on strict academic achievement. Many successful doctors, engineers, IAS, and MBAs are now working as entrepreneurs, YouTubers, or running their own start-ups successfully. Arnab Goswami ex IITian now a professional YouTuber and well-known for his TVF series, Devender Purbiya is also an IITian but he chose photography after working 6 years in the corporate sector, there are numerous examples present that paved the way for students to take a courageous steps towards the unconventional career paths.

5. Personal Fulfilment: Students who pursue a non-traditional career path often feel personal satisfaction. In contrast, competitive exam preparation demands students to study 8-10 hours a day, which is quite exhausting and if they do not succeed in exams their hard work might feel wasted. Due to this overtiring journey of exams students often don’t feel an ounce of personal fulfillment.

6. Networking Opportunities: During competitive exams, students merely have an opportunity to socialize, as long study hours, vast syllabus, regular coaching classes, and test series, leave them with minimal time to connect with friends. Unconventional careers provide networking opportunities with industry experts, and give a chance to participate in unique communities and mentorship, providing a richer social and professional experience.

Considering all these advantages of unconventional career paths over traditional career options students are attracted to these significantly.

How Unconventional Paths Are Redefining Professional Success?

Unconventional career opportunities now show a new direction to students. With technological advancement immense new, exciting career options are waiting for them. Brandon Stanton chose his passion for photography over a job in Bond trading, Ken Jeong left the medical field and chose comedy and acting, and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, left his career in computer science and chose an E-commerce platform are such countless examples in front of us with their inspiring stories, motivating all to chose our passion over traditional careers.

Let’s look at some such career options for students: 

1. Entrepreneurship: Numerous successful entrepreneurs have set an example of their talent, hard work, and dedication in front of us such as Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Howard Schultz, Reed Hastings, and Sara Blakely. These successful entrepreneurs who chose unconventional career paths have marked their presence in history. Students who want to start their own business are suggested to take inspiration from these entrepreneurs and update their skills, research and check the market demand, think carefully about their finances, and with a winning attitude start their venture.

2. Digital Content Creation: In this fast-paced technological world there is high demand for digital content creators, bloggers, podcasters, and social media managers. The industry is rapidly blooming.

With the rise of technological influences, there is an increasing trend among individuals towards careers in digital content creation, YouTube video creation, podcasting, blogging, and social media influencing. 

3.Data Science and Analytics: The sector involves extraction of valuable information from large data extracts to drive business decisions. Students need skills in statistical analysis, programming, and domain expertise to excel in this career. Healthcare, Finance, Agriculture, Retail, Transportation, and cyber security are the areas that demand Data Scientists.

4. Digital Marketing: Specialisation in areas such as SEO, Content Marketing, Social Media Strategy, and Online advertising is needed to build online businesses. For Instance, the Backlinko business model improved its online traffic by 110% by updating its old content and adding new keywords to it. HubSpot used the latest content creation strategies such as blogs, eBooks, and webinars to engage readers. These strategies can also be used to grow Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube pages.

5. Creative Arts and Design: This field provides a wide range of career opportunities in fields such as graphic design, fashion design, animation, and fine arts. Many famous personalities Hayao Miyazaki, Banksy, and Virgil Abloh are related to creative art and design work, by following their path students can earn name and fame in this field.

6. Freelancing and Remote Work: Students who are interested in writing, graphic design, programming, and consulting can choose freelancing work, various platforms such as Linkedin, Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer, and ThinkRemote are available, where they can build networks, search for jobs related to their skills.

7. Health and Wellness Coaching: Health and Wellness are fields that are always in demand. Being a fitness trainer, nutritionist, and offering mental well-being consultant will provide students with diverse and impactful career opportunities.

8. Educational Technology: As technology is evolving it is transforming the learning landscape, making education more accessible, engaging, and personalized for all. Gone are the days when teaching and learning were limited to closed classrooms, now various online platforms provide great opportunities and impressive pay scales to teach. Khan Academy, Unacademy, Google Classrooms, Udemy, Skillshare, and various other platforms offer teaching opportunities as well as training for new teachers. Students can run their learning platforms on YouTube also.

Creative fields such as animation, film-making, music production, and game design are also gaining attraction. These fields value innovative ideas and creative work over conventional qualifications.

Government Initiatives For Skill Development:

The government of India is continuously working towards skills development in youth and supporting new businesses. Some initiatives such as the 13th FICCI Global Skills Summit 2022, New Education Policy, Skill India Mission, and National Skill Development Corporation working towards enhancing practical skills in young talented individuals. While Start-up India which fosters innovation, provides financial support, guidance, and networking opportunities as well as loans of rs.10 lakh to 1 crore to set up greenfield enterprises. Atal Innovation Mission promotes innovation and enterprise development through Atal Tinkering Labs and Atal Incubation Centers.

Telangana government recently initiated 10 centers for skill development so that young people can develop industry-required skills and enhance their career opportunities. The 2015 Report on National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship estimated that only 4.7% of the total workforce in India had undergone formal skill training compared with 52% in the US, 80% in Japan, and 96% in South Korea, Therefore we need more initiatives to develop young generation who are skillful, creative and innovative.

In conclusion, the collapse of entrance exams in India is more than just a crisis of the traditional educational system; it is a potential catalyst for a paradigm shift in how students perceive their futures. As the rigidity of conventional career paths loosens, a world of unconventional opportunities is unfolding. This transition encourages students to pursue their passions, leverage their unique talents, and embrace diverse career paths that promise not just success, but also personal fulfillment and societal impact. The future of education and careers in India may well lie in this newfound freedom to explore and innovate beyond traditional confines.