We Don't Need No Education!

12th class is make or break for a middle class family, or is it? It is a travesty that has plagued the Indian Education system, wherein a child is put through a very stressful two-three years while still in his/her teens. He is told in no uncertain terms that these years will decide your future. High school is the stepping stone for higher education, unlike in Western countries where not every High school pass out opts for under graduate courses, in India it is typical bhed chaal(like sheep) people just move from high school to college and then follow it with post graduation. Primarily because unlike school education, which is a costly affair in private schools, Govt colleges are more or less free. Although there is very little value addition from school to college graduates but then, for want of nothing better to pursue, that is the natural course. 

The actual issue is the disdain for blue collar workers, everyone aspires to be a babu, a respected white collar type, even if it is a mere clerical job, which is neither challenging nor paying. Unless this pathological dislike for menial work is removed from the deep recess of our collective mindset, we will continue to breed unemployable clerks whose only aspiration is a govt job where they have a typical 9 to 5 job and an opportunity for some additional income. Obviously Govt can only employ a finite number of individuals, the rest are left twiddling their thumbs, a drain on the family, too qualified for any kind of skilled work and useless to the industry. the demographic dividend are the demographic duds in reality.

We have often heard or read about the malaise, but where is the solution, Agniveer,  although I have my serious reservations about the scheme, will only cater for a mere 45000 youths per year, what about the balance? Are apps like Urban Clap, which provide a platform for the skilled workers, the only way ? In India as they say the brightest lot study hard and qualify in competitive exams and become doctors engineers, the mediocre ones study management and control the former, the barely pass types join politics and control both  and the  failures join the underworld control all three and  ones who chose to give formal education a go by become mendicants. Path towards success does not necessarily follow the same route as taken by the brightest minds. Incidentally, even the evaluation criteria for intelligence is skewed in favour of the ones with good memory rather than the ones for problem solving. We know of many such cases where an illiterate person is a successful political leader or a businessperson, Kamraj the 60s Congress politician was one such case, and so was Giani Zail Singh, former President of India, who incidentally signed our parchments for commissioning in 1987.

The age old adage in India was, "Padhoge likhoge banoge nawab, kheloge kudoge howge kharab" (If you study you will be a Nawab, if you indulge in games you will be ruined). Of late, though there are many sportspersons who have not just become rich but actually Nawabs, especially if you succeed in Cricket, though these days other games like Badminton, Kabaddi  etc are also raking in the moolah with the Premier Leagues. Then there is the MBA Chai wala, I am sure some of us have heard about through social media. Mr Prafull Billore who could not pursue his MBA decided to set up a chain of Tea vends and has become a very successful entrepreneur so has the man behind the Oyo Hotels, Mr Ritesh Agrawal. These guys were not brilliant by our exacting standards and benchmarks of IIT/IIM but have proved to be highly successful individuals.

Yes not everyone can be as successful as Mr Billore or Mr Agrawal but being an entrepreneur itself is a very creditable achievement. As you not only drive the economy by providing employment to many but also perform a huge social service by weaning the youth away from loitering aimlessly and providing them a platform for their own growth and wellbeing as also their families. 

Its high time parents start to let the kids explore their own talents and chart their course, lest kids revert to the  pink Floyd anthem of the 70s “We don’t need no education..”

Published in Free Press Journal on 09 Apr 23, link shared

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