Another Brick in the Wall

Context:  The recent phenomenon of high cut-off percentage for college admissions has sparked a debate on the credibility of our education system, which is marred with conformity and inequality.

Issues with the education system leading to the problem of high cut-offs

• Treats everyone uniformly: It ignores fundamental differences among students in terms of their social locations and socio-economic conditions.

• Most high scorers belong to well-off families with social and cultural capital and are highly motivated.

• Even among the socially-culturally disadvantaged groups, the better-off ones make it to the privileged category of high scorers.

• Aspirants exceed opportunities: In this situation, board exams are used to eliminate some students from accessing certain educations degrees and spaces, and students accept their failure.

• Maintains homogeneity and exclusivity: Colleges in India highlights their difference from others and exerts pressures on students to secure positions and abhors weakness. This leads to  -

• Blocking a heterogeneous group of students from studying together; mitigating differences and ensuring commonality,

• Promoting a tendency of hiding identities among students,

• The commodification of education as a brand,

• Celebrating elitism among a select few and alienation among most others. 

• Discrepancies in marks allotted to students: among different central, regional and international boards, impact the future trajectories available for students.

• For, E.g. even the Uttar Pradesh board topper this year, with a score as high as 97% will not be considered eligible by LSR for some of its courses. 

Conclusion: It’s time that we reflect on the kind of world we are creating through our system of “formal education, assessment and rewards” and its implications on young students.