Education plays a vital role in one’s life. From improving human health and living conditions to learning normal human etiquettes, the importance of education is immeasurable. But in India, the pressure to excel starts young. The competition of getting into a college and course of your preference is brutal. There are 20 million students lining up for 800 universities and 3900 colleges. With the examination system being primarily based on cramming and not on understanding, students start spending more time memorising the books leading to less and less time for self. This causes a number of issues affecting both physical and mental health. The decreased physical activity, poor eating habits and lack of sleep leads to lethargy and obesity which may cause further damage later on in life.
Even though the physical side effects are alarming the system has a major toll on one’s psyche. Expectations are high. The pressure of performing from both others and self leads to numerous mental health disorders, the primary one being anxiety. The stress before and after exams and results lead to low self esteem and confidence making a person withdraw to themselves. This further leads to depression. According to a study published in The Asian Journal Of Psychiatry, 37.7%, 13.1% and 2.4% of students in India suffer respectively from moderate, severe and extremely severe depression, making India the most depressed country in the world according to WHO. Depression further leads to self harm and in some extreme cases death.
A study conducted by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that on average one student dies every hour due to suicide with about 28 such suicides reported every day. Every year the number of students committing suicide is increasing constantly with India losing 10,335 students in the year 2019. In 2020, 14 suicides were officially reported in connection with the medical entrance exam (NEET). This was twice the number from the previous year. In the same year numerous other suicides have been associated with other entrance exams such as JEE (Joint entrance exam for schools like Architecture and Engineering), CLAT (entrance exam for Law school) and many others.
It is the need of the hour to bring about a change in the Indian Education system. A total syllabus overhaul is required . The education system should focus more on conceptual learning. The addition of personal development courses is vital for the betterment of not only the person but the entire nation. It is imperative to revamp the evaluation tools to not only include the academic excellence but also extracurricular activities. It is vital to keep in mind children’s emotional and social well being. Both teachers and guardians should adapt to the children’s educational needs and not pressurise them to be someone they are not. The presence of school counsellors is also necessary
By all counts, there is an urgent need to revamp the Indian Education System as it has flaws that need immediate intervention which includes a better core teaching and learning experience for both the students and the teachers.
Juppan Singh Sandhu
Guest Contributer
Juppan is a 19 year old student in India who just wrote his NEET exam.
