It might seem somewhat odd to a non-Indian to hear that Indian education system is full of flaws. India, a country considered to be the land of many great inventions, sadly has poor reputation when it comes to education. Indians who can afford quality education send their kids to International schools and eventually abroad for grad school or post-graduation. However, a large majority of the Indians have to settle for State Board Schools. There are a myriad of loopholes in our country’s current education system, but there are a few which need more attention than the rest.

Take a look at the five biggest problems with the Indian education system which need to be addressed:

1)        Focus on rote learning – Most teachers, in the process of helping students score well in exams, only  teach them to by heart the who's, whens and what's instead of whys and how's. This behavior is why most schools in India end up churning out mediocre students.

2)      Low Student : Teacher ratio – India’s population is growing exponentially but there is a severe shortage of quality teachers to teach Indian children.

3)       Rigidity in college/university programs – Once you have enrolled for a program of your choice in any university in India, you cannot change your subjects unless you are ready to waste a year and re-enroll yourself for another program. This lack of flexibility is a big problem and deters students from picking their choice of professions. Universities in US/UK give their students the liberty to change their subjects during the program without making them waste their academic year.

4)       Parental pressure – You are lucky if your parents have let you make your career decision. A vast majority of the Indian children are forced to choose mainstream career options like medicine and engineering which are the hot favorites of Indian parents. This, often leaves the children confused about their natural skills and ambitions.

5)      The fear of failure ingrained within students – In a country where it is considered a huge sin to fail in exams, students are afraid to commit mistakes. This, is also the main reason why so many students resort to suicide after coming to terms with failure. One must understand that failure teaches a lot about real life and even more about success, ironically.

 

If the above mentioned loop-holes are addressed, one can be sure to see many more successful Indians make it big on a global level.