Trigger Warning: Mentions of suicide
On Monday, an 18-year-old JEE aspirant in Kota, Rajasthan, tragically took her own life, leaving behind a poignant suicide note for her parents. The note revealed her struggles in coping with the pressure of preparing for the JEE examination, and she made this desperate decision just two days before her scheduled test.
This incident marks the second suicide in Kota within nearly a week and overall this year.
Having read the suicide note, I was overwhelmed for a moment. I am a product of the ‘JEE factory’ myself. I even took a drop year for it after my 12th. Although it’s been three years since that chapter in my life closed, it remains the most stressful period I’ve ever experienced.
Now, I have written a handful of articles on YKA covering student suicides, so what I wish to do in this article is provide suggestions for what needs to be done. For I feel we’re way past the point of pointing fingers. It’s high time we start addressing the elephant in the room: Our education system is crumbling.
The Talking Points: The Why
As I mentioned earlier, we have moved beyond the stage of laying blame on specific entities. While it’s easy to point fingers at coaching centres in Kota collectively, they are not solely to blame. Neither are the IITs, NITs, or the government solely to blame. It’s crucial to step back and acknowledge the broader perspective – we, as a society, share as much responsibility for the challenges as the government and coaching centres in Kota do. Allow me to elucidate.
Imagine an eight-year-old child being labelled a “bad student” simply because their marks are declining. I state this scenario because it’s not a mere imagination for me; it’s a personal memory. Our science teacher was handing out our answer scripts, and when she called my name and remarked, “Jyothi, what are these marks? Since when have you become a bad student?” Specific experiences, regardless of the years that pass, etch themselves vividly in memory. Even now, as I pen these words, I am transported back to that classroom, reliving the moment I was singled out in front of the entire class.
An eight-year-old kid who doesn’t understand the fundamental nature of good and bad gets told this. And I’m not even talking about myself anymore. As a society, we have long debated categorising students as “good” or “bad.” Tell this to a kid enough times, and they will attach all their self-worth to the marks they get and the grades they achieve.
It’s no surprise that an increasing number of students are falling victim to “exam anxiety.” When the fear of failure looms over them even before the exam begins, they become more susceptible to making mistakes and underperforming. But how much of this burden should be placed on their shoulders? Let me make it clear: NONE OF IT.
As a society, we are yet to fully embrace the responsibility of fostering the notion of categorising students as “good” solely based on their grades. The fundamental core of this concept requires elimination. Moreover, we have yet to begin to take accountability for our actions that have contributed to the ongoing deterioration of students’ mental well-being in recent years. In fact, as a society, we have not even begun to recognise the existence of an issue within our education system:
Our education system is crumbling, and things will worsen if nothing is done.
The Solution: Adopting an Admission Model similar to the U.S.
According to NTA data, approximately 8.2 lakh students participated in the JEE mains exam for the January session last year. Only around 1 lakh students advanced to the JEE Advanced exam’s next round, dedicated to IIT admissions. With roughly 17,000 seats in IITs, the selection rate is just above 2%.
Shifting the focus to another entrance exam, CLAT had about 50,000 participants in 2019 competing for roughly 2350 available seats. Over the past decade, the class 12 board exam marks, serving as the primary admission criterion for many bachelor courses, have faced increasing saturation.
The rising number of applicants, alongside a relatively constant number of available seats, highlights a few challenges:
- Judging a student’s potential and granting them admission solely based on marks will NOT be enough.
- The competition will keep increasing, as will the toll on students’ mental well-being.
Marks can no longer be a distinguisher but can only be an eliminator in college admissions. Colleges will likely maintain cut-offs to filter applicants, but securing admission can no longer hinge solely on scores. This necessitates shifting from a metric-based evaluation model to a profile-based one.
What is the U.S. Admission Model?
The United States has been ahead of its time in college admission processes. From application forms that are extremely elaborate and capture all facets of a student to lengthy group discussions, personal interviews, and profile assessments, their admission process is created to judge the student as a whole. It is important to note that they always use marks as the initial filter, not the final one.
Drawing inspiration from their admission model, Indian colleges and universities should explore incorporating the following factors beyond academic marks:
A Passion For The Chosen Course Subject
A frequently overlooked aspect is that among the select few who secure admission into IITs, a notable portion cannot choose and pursue a course aligned with their interests. Instead, they may end up studying a course or degree for which they lack enthusiasm and understanding (even the course you get to pursue is determined by your rank). This situation arises because the JEE primarily prepares students for admission into IITs rather than providing a mechanism for selecting specific courses or degrees tailored to individual interests and aptitudes.
Even students who get flawless ranks in the JEE exam and go to IITs find themselves lost and overwhelmed with what they want to do with their lives.
This needs to change. While actively making the admissions to these top institutes more profile-centric, colleges must consider your interest and passion for your chosen course. They can evaluate it based on any internships the students have done, the summer programs they attended, the online courses they took, or any project demonstrating their skill set and interest in their chosen course. If nothing, this will make students more self-aware of their interests and strengths/weaknesses.
Leadership skills and Extra-curricular activities:
Candidates who have taken on leadership roles, such as leading a debate team or serving as a student body president, should be given due recognition as excellent criteria for distinguishing among applicants. Additionally, students who excel in sports merit a separate sports quota, where their achievements in their respective sports carry significant weightage.
These measures acknowledge students’ skills and dedication in diverse areas and contribute to a more inclusive and comprehensive evaluation process during admissions.
Statement Of Purpose
A Statement of Purpose is an essay which will bring out every aspect of a student beyond their marks & academic achievements. What is your story? Where are you from? Why do you want to join a certain college? What makes you different from other students? To write a Statement of Purpose with ease, you should have a clear goal & intention in mind.
Personal Interviews
Even after meeting all the above criteria, colleges can incorporate personal interviews to evaluate the candidate for themselves in person. They can further evaluate the candidate’s confidence, passion, communication skills, goals and interests for the future.
To incorporate these changes into our education system, the entire system must be revamped from the ground up. Schools need to shift their evaluation metrics from just marks to an umbrella of achievements. This will lead to the students’ holistic development and create a generation of more self-aware individuals.
In high school, students should get a chance to work with career counsellors at their school to help them figure out the course they want to pursue. Then, they should put in the relevant work to create a profile specifically catered to the course they want to pursue.
Conclusion
We need to make emotional education mandatory, and we need to normalise going to therapy. Finally, we need to end mental health stigma, which is only possible if we openly discuss it. Schools must start prioritising mental health and teach students the importance of asking for help. Education must feel like a blessing and serve to further your career. It should not be a burden and serve as a reason towards taking your life.
We must stop running behind marks, not just during admissions to undergraduate courses but also through a student’s school life, from grade 1 to grade 12. Society must shift from forming opinions and decisions based on evaluating specific metrics. The NEP is NOT an entire revamp of the education system. The shift will bring its fair share of challenges, but it’s a step in the right direction. We need to evolve, not stagnate as a society and a country.