Feels ridiculousto be a part of an education system where impeccant minds are killed instead ofeducated. Yes, it does sound shocking, but it’s the reality. The only thing isthat the students aren’t killed but are forced to commit suicides due toextreme and peer academic pressure. For a matter of fact, two students in thelast 24 hours gave their lives in the state of Gujarat. Both were appearing forthe Board exams of class 10th and 12th respectively. Inthe first incident the 17-year old girl threw herself in front of a runningtrain and the other student, again a girl hung herself at her place. Well, thisis no big issue; these sorts of issues keep coming day-in and day-out in thesemonths every year as the Board exams take place in the country. Parents’expectations, ridicule syllabi, inappropriate guidance - all leads to a studentunder high levels of mental stress and those who can’t cope it, commit theworst sin.

In thisregard, the administrators of the system mark the suicides as signs ofincapacity of students, but don’t take any responsibility on their shouldersand just provide nothing more than a bit of condolence to the family of thevictim. But no one really tries to get into the root of the cause. Funniestpart though is the Media’s no-involvement. News channels will always makeAmitabh Bachchan’s visit to a restaurant a breaking story but won’t make thesestories as a part of flashing news. These stories only find places in the newstickers, which are often ignored. Coming back to the system, it is real crap. Believeit or not, but I am myself a part of it and giving my 12th gradeexams these days!

Taking adeep look at the system, it asks the Science stream students to study 3 mainsubjects – Physics, Chemistry and Math (or Biology). And when a student is in10th grade, he/she has just one text of all these sciences compiledinside 300 pages. While in 12th, the student has to face a text of600+ pages for each science for each grade. The Physics subject, which is mostdisliked by students in all has 32 chapters (in both – 11th and 12th)and professors proudly say that if a person understands all chaptersthoroughly, he/she can understand each and every phenomena on this Earth andaround; meaning to say, almost all of Physics is covered in just two grades. Notonly this, many professor say that these chapters are again repeated inColleges if you take up specialization courses in Physics. Moreover, texts arelaid poorly with a million of spelling and grammatical errors. The frustratingpart – the texts are first laid down in the regional language and thentranslated in English for English medium students. This translation makes thetextbook and the authors look extremely funny. A sentence in my Chemistry textsignifies – “Carbon fibers which are made up of carbon are called carbonfibers” or for more fun, “Radiation is called Electromagnetic radiation”.

The abovePhysics example itself gives a clear idea that how poorly laid the system is.The transformation from 10th grade to 11th can be theworst part for any student. Many would question why to take such stream if aperson in incapable? The reason is lack to guidance. No one would wondertransformation of 10th grade Science of 300 pages to 2400+ pages ofScience in 11th and moreso, today each and every parent wantshis/her child to be a doc or an engineer. Hence, when in 12thstudents take this thing hard and hence succumb to pressure.  

The onlyclear message that is to be sent to students is the art of not worrying a lotand not taking pressure. Students need to understand that 12thboards aren’t the end of life. And moreover, the system is not worth givinglife for. This system which forces the students to cram the subject instead ofunderstanding and just doesn’t bother about the practical approach is not theone to shed life for. And apart, the students should also understand the agonythat falls over the family, friends and relatives, when they commit such sins.

I am onlypraying that I don’t read any such news in the next day’s newspaper and if theycontinue, I’d do my level best to urge the media houses and print publicationsto cover this instead of covering celebrities and spying into their personallives.

My sincere request to transglobalfreepress readers: Pleaseshare this compilation and very importantly if you are reading in India or havea good social base amongst Indian mass. This message needs to spread.