All Work And No Play Makes Sharmaji ka Ladka a Dull Boy
-Niyati Sinojiya, SY Bsc
7-minute read
“Five-year-old Kanishk can barely count to 30 and gets stuck at ‘Q’ when reciting the English letters. His mother has already decided that he will become a doctor. So, every day, after five hours of classes at a private school in Jaipur, he stuffs 11 books into his red bag and attends two hours of tuition. This gruelling school-plus-tuition epidemic will be his life until he gives the pre-medical National Eligibility cum Entrance Test when he completes class 12. The pace will only get more frenetic—and frantic—with each passing year.” -The Print
This article stems from shared sentiments of numerous 13-14 year-olds or even younger, who for a long time now, have carried the burden of being subjected to the highly competitive and pressurised environments at coaching centres. However, it also expresses a sense of relief regarding the introduction of a new policy that prohibits children under 16 from joining coaching centres to prepare for JEE/NEET, enabling them to enrol in esteemed institutions that nurture India’s brightest minds.
What is wrong with a nation trying to build a competent workforce and get the most out of its demographic dividend by training them from a young age? We see China doing the same in the field of sports and their success is quite evident in the medal tally of the Olympics.
It is great that our nation too was on a path to ensure the academic success of its students, moulding them to get into IITs from a young age, turning them into brilliant engineers and then dispatching them to the US, but alas, this policy intervenes, disrupting the manufacturing and maybe giving its resource, a naive little 13 yr old, a break from the exploitation.
To offer you a glimpse into the scenario, imagine being a 13-year-old child who has just completed 7th grade and is about to enter 8th grade. Anticipating the next five years of your life, your parents have enrolled you in a coaching centre to prepare for IIT, a commitment that will last until the completion of 12th grade. You endure 5-7 hours of classes during weekends in a highly competitive environment, coupled with practice sessions during the week.(Want to go out to your friend’s birthday during the weekend? Nah, ain’t missing no class! ) You cannot be seen having free time in between, as your parents would call you out for wasting time. Contemplations of quitting arise 1.5 years into the program, but the hefty non-refundable fee your parents paid remains a constant, compelling you to continue.
You somehow manage to push through and get into an IIT after 5 years of complete torment. With zero exposure to the real world, you now face 2 choices, dedicating yourself to studies or indulging in some fun. Opting for the latter, you find yourself surrounded by people discussing incredible movies and timeless classics. The emphasis here lies on “people talking” because hey, you completely forgot to develop that skill in school!
Then comes the most dreadful part where you’re tasked with introducing yourself to the class. You somehow manage to get through the anxiety of standing up and presenting yourself until the inevitable question about your hobbies arises.
Hobbies? What’s that? You’ve never had one.
You end up having low confidence because of your inability to mingle with people and a sense of inferiority because of a lack of other skills. This pushes you even deeper down in the rabbit hole of negativity.
“ Cheer up! It is okay!”, is something you want your mind to say, but hey, you completely forgot to develop the skill of handling emotions too!
This story represents just one child among thousands enrolled in these exploitative and profit-driven institutions, commonly known as “coaching centers,” which capitalize on the pursuit of academic success at the expense of a normal and happy childhood. The trade-off is substantial. Children end up not learning the most basic and essential skills required at that age and pay for it later, through no fault of their own. While private schools and numerous policies claim to offer a “holistic” education, private coachings undermine this claim, negating the intended effect.
This brings me back to the first question. What is wrong in a nation trying to build a competent workforce and get the most out of its demographic dividend by training them from a young age? While we might develop a competent workforce, it doesn’t guarantee a happy one. As the nation progresses in its journey to provide quality education ,it’s imperative to consider the profound consequences of prioritizing academic success at the expense of essential life skills and the genuine happiness of its citizens.
This policy marks a crucial shift that challenges the dominance of coaching centres over the lives of young children. To what extent it gets implemented well remains a big question but the mere acknowledgement of the fact that something was wrong is still a big win!