Futility of Education in India

I was recently traveling to Bhopal and found myself in the company of three young boys of around 23 years. They were happy among themselves playing pranks, watching videos etc. They had almost all the gizmos like high range mobiles, I-pods, I pads etc which children of their own age would crave for. They did notice the presence of an elderly person amidst them and maintained decorum and were respectful. Being a teacher who loves the company of students, half way through my journey, I inquired them about their education. Incidentally, we turned out to be alumni of the same institution as they left college after their first year education. Concerned, I asked for reasons and prompt came the reply, “what is the use of this education, when postgraduates are driving auto rickshaws for their living”. Thank god, I did not disclose my profession to them.

The boys went on to tell me their story. After their 12^th in a school, they joined B.Com like many other students in our country. In college, there was no serious education happening. Classes are rarely held, there is no control and many don’t come at all. Those who come disturb the class more than learning and the teachers are not concerned. Many of them read exam oriented notes available in the market and pass the university exams. In the university exams, marks are proportionate to the number of sheets one writes and in many cases students start with their answer, digress on to the write story of a recently seen movie, and finish with the answer and yet get good marks because they fill in more sheets. Then the question is what to do after such B.com? Either do M.Com or MBA. M.com has no value and MBA has only perceived value. One ends up spending at the least 3 to 4 lakhs to do an MBA and then some of them get a job of Rs. 10,000/- PM which hurts.

I was curious to know, what they do for their living and there came another prompt reply. They struck a deal with their respective parents to lend them Rs. 6 lakhs each, which is the rough cost the parents would have incurred in educating them up to MBA. They learnt mobile repairing from one of the vocational training institutions and started their own mobile repairing shops. The most enterprising of the three earn about Rs 40,000 a month and the other two earn in the range of 25 to 30 thousand. They are their own bosses and all three want to upscale their operations to include selling of handsets which they hope to do within the next 2 years. They do not take any money from their parents instead buy their parents and other siblings an occasional gift. They have repaid a major portion of the loan taken from their parents. They smoke and drink a beer occasionally, but all from their own earnings.

On the other hand, I had met a young engineer who was interested to join the defence services. He had his own story too. He was fairly bright in studies but could not balance between IIT/AIEEE and CBSE. Hence, did not get rank in IIT/AIEEE and also scored average marks (72%) in the boards and was left with no choice but to join a local engineering college. Finished engineering without a backlog but did not get any placement and is now looking at any government job including the ones in the Defence. Has also applied for group 2 job and is completely frustrated. Parents took a loan of 6 lakhs to educate him and he is jobless with the EMIs staring at the family.

Unfortunately, he is not the only one. Being an author of a guide on defence selection, I do receive several desperate calls from across the country. My mobile number has become a kind of a helpline for many such distraught students. The worst part is, many of them come from humble families and the son is the only hope of their family. Most of them, even after finishing 16 years of education, are unable to speak in English and there is no way they can be helped to join the defence services. Most private engineering and management institutions make all kind of promises and project a bright future to the innocent parents and aspiring students, knowing very well that the student does not have the right base to become an employable engineer or manager. Once the seats are full, the management does not bother at all and the end result is absolute frustration. Some of them in their desperation to get the numbers, even offer fee discounts and once admitted, go back on their words and force the money out. I have seen desperate parents who have been victimized by greedy institutional owners.

Listening to these stories, I wonder at the futility of the present day education in India. I admire the three young boys who refused to study more and instead got themselves trained to start their independent business. Is there a lesson for all the students, parents and the educationists? Don’t we have enough opportunities for small and micro businesses in a country of 1 billon plus?