After clearing the 10th board exams the immediate
worry of every student is to choose the stream that would decide his future.
Having done that they recklessly start preparing for IIT-JEE, AIPMT, CA exams
without even being sure of where their interest actually lies. This article
addresses that student and questions the impetuous college admission rat race.
Completing my Undergraduate education from an IIT, I have
experienced that 80% of my colleagues including me were unsure of what we would
be doing after graduation. Rather we were uncertain to even our areas of
interest. This happens when one jumps into studying for a competitive exams
just because they got good grades in the 10th boards. Moreover,
their parents consider that their child conquered Mt. Everest by achieving the
magic figure of 99/100 in Maths and Science.
Will achieving a cent
percent in these insignificant exams keep you happy for life?
The answer is certainly NO.
Most students jump for a college education just because that
is the easiest option they see. While their parents slog days and nights to
furnish those hefty tuition fees the student enjoys a life oblivious to the daily hassles of life unperturbed to the idea of survival in the world. If
Indians are so much in awe of the western culture, why can’t we adopt some of
their principles of financial freedom of teenagers stepping into adolescence
rather than blindly following their consumer base of branded clothing and
electronic gadgets?
One doesn’t need the stamp of an IIT or IIM to be a writer,
politician or an IAS officer. Yes, you better know the people I am talking
about here! Motto should be to strive for originality rather than banality;
simply clearing competitive exams for piling up degrees in your name.
If you really want to start a business, beginning after your
high school is not a bad idea. What’s the point of enrolling yourself in an
engineering college? Kids graduate college with an atrophied idea muscle.
Starting a business forces you to exercise that muscle every day!
Entrepreneuring teaches you how to do business, not an MBA degree!
Like travelling? Go explore the world after your high school!
Taking a drop year after failing to clear the JEE’s can be very frustrating.
Instead meet new people. You will learn how important the education you crave
for is actually worth? You will learn the value of how to stretch a dollar!
Like arts or sports? Spend a year in professional painting or
photography or simply learn a musical instrument. Creation does not happen from
inspiration. It happens from perspiration, discipline and passion. Mastering a
game teaches you sportsmanship, socializing, helps develop that killing
instinct obviously without having to kill anyone! A pair of footballing shoes
or a DSLR would cost you much less than a college education. Dare to think
beyond IIT’s and IIM’s!!
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However, a counterview would say
these things can’t be applied to an Indian scenario. As social and financial
security cannot be granted by the govt. of a population of 125 crores unlike
the US, parents invest a great deal of money and effort into college admission
of their kids. This may apply to the lower middle class but what about the
wealthy ones? Govt. invests thousands of crores into IIT’s, NIT’s and IIM’s
only to see that more than half go abroad to study further and settle there. Hardly
20 percent of the remaining actually get a job in core industries of their
discipline. Eventually the tax payer’s money is only wasted. So why not us, the
middle and upper class think before what we really want to do before rushing
for easier options and let the poor and deserving benefit from these govt.
institutions and funds.
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