Dr. Navya Gubbi Sateeshchandra
Professor, Berlin school of Business and Innovation, Berlin, Germany.
Education used to be the vehicle of enlightenment, character formation and social mobility for generations. Say today, on the other hand, it has grown more to a sorry sickening pageant of marks scores ranks university toppers. Forget real learning — in many households, parents interpret success according to report cards. Children face relentless institutional pressure to pursue another never-ending series of coaching classes, competitive exams and the rat race that the academic system imposes on us at the expense of creativity, emotional well-being and practical skills. These fascinated ideas ranking raises one important thing: Has the education lost its essence?
The answer, unfortunately, is yes. In recent times, education in many parts of the world has moved beyond holistic development to a model that incentivizes rote learning over comprehension, competition over collaboration and grades overgrowth. This has left a generation of students able to perform well in exams, but lacking in communication skills, problem-solving ability and emotional resilience. It cannot be blamed solely on the parent. They are falling in line with a system that is top-rank happy and believes academic rankings are the alpha and omega of life. Universities sell snippets of rank holders, schools boast cent-percent results and culture gives greater respect to marks than talent. In such a setting, it is only natural that parents fear that their children will be doomed to fall behind if they do not achieve at the very highest level. But this mindset is blind to a fact: the world has changed. Employers more than ever do not only want certificates and grades. They are looking for skilled people who can adapt, be creative and driven to lead, work in teams and others. Now, practical knowledge is as much important as theoretical learning in a modern economy. Orphans make this mistake; Or just plan on changing their habits – most students graduate from schools and universities without the drastic basic life skills. As you some find it hard to articulate ideas confidently. Some don’t have financial literacy, others don’t have emotional intelligence, still more cannot work in teams. They are still ill-prepared for real-world problems because the system was oriented toward examination performance rather than true learning, despite years of schooling. We have all been taught that education is not about partying and cramming a textbook into our head, like a machine. It was meant to get people ready for adulthood. An educated man should be challenged in independent thinking, problem-solving, respecting diversity and contributing to society and lifelong learning. The education should be both intellectual and character building. Over-pressure for marks is also impacting kids mental health. Students are experiencing more anxiety, depression, stress and fear of failure. A lot of young children are brought up to think that they can only be good enough if they get great school grades. They start to be afraid of the learning instead of enjoying it. Deadline, exams and other unrealistic expectation dominate during childhood.
This unhealthy culture must change. We are in dire need of educational reform to balance such restoration of purpose. There must be a balance between academics and skill development at schools and universities. This has to become part of the fundamentals — communication, critical thinking, digital literacy, creativity and entrepreneurship, teamwork and social responsibility. Rote memorization should give way to practical learning where possible.
All of these are: project based learning, internships, community service, debates and workshops and real life problem figuring. These types of experiences deepen children’s understanding while helping to develop confidence and the growth of social skills. Your learning should not be limited to textbooks, examinations; it should become interactive and meaningful.
Teachers are also important in this transformation. Teaching should not be allowing people to understand the techniques of what we need to know in order to sit a particular exam, but rather teachers who guide their students towards discovering something which they excel at and are passionate about. Every child is unique. Some are better in science, others in arts, sports, communication, technology or leadership. Diversity of talent and interests needs to be recognized by education systems — we ought not force every student into the same definition of success. Parents will have to adjust their expectations too. Marks alone cannot decide the future of a child. Most successful entrepreneurs / innovator, artists and leaders were never toppers in university. Curiosity, tenacity, creative thinking and a certain hands-on skill were what enabled their success. Instead of comparing children with rank holders, parents should encourage learning, exploration and emotional wellbeing. Institutional reform is equally important. Failing to do so with new factors and modalities in play would only serve institutionalism at the expense of meritocracy, as governments and educational authorities re-design assessment systems that test understanding and application rather than mere memory. Assessment should test for critical thinking, creativity, and skills. Universities and employers must also widen their admission and recruitment criteria beyond academic percentages.
Those already leading the way in education systems are heading this route hard. They highlight innovation, talent development and student well-being. In their classrooms, students are encouraged to ask questions and discuss them, experiment with different branches of knowledge, working together in pursuit of added insight. This makes for a confident and adaptable individual who can respond to the complex and fast-evolving global demands. Alternatively, rote learning-centric education systems churn out graduates who the examinations spit out great marks at but who fail in workplaces and social settings. The future will not be owned by the organizations and individuals who faithfully rote learn everything laid out to them, but by those who can think, adjust, articulate and create. Education, therefore, shouldn’t aim to build a pool of exhausted competitors in an eternal rat race. It should mould you into responsible citizens, competent professionals, empathetic human beings and lifelong learners. Makers and winners could get a year to year foothold in for employments which will never hoist you through the long years yet your expertise, conduct, characteristics and attitude are focused on carrying on with the whole existence amount.
Hence, society needs to re-evaluate the concept of success. A creative, less academic student demonstrating creativity, empathy and leadership skills and practical competence should carry as much weight as a university topper. We must not only realise that examination grades do not define success but success is defined by your ability to add value to society. What we need now is an educational system that is balanced — one which blends academics with soft skills, emotional development and social learning. Education can only then be said to serve its true purpose, which is not the training of children for examinations but for life. The discussion is no longer whether education reform is necessary. The real question is how fast ready society is to act before another generation gets caught in the marks and rankings obsessed culture that drives pressure. It should not tell us more or less about how to make education a numbers game; it should move from having a race for numbers towards facilitating learning, development and Human development. That alone could condition young brains for the modern world.