somajm

She broke all norms. She gambled with life. Her son’s life to be precise. The stakes were high. And she won. And we were left with awe and envy at her victory. After her son completed his tenth std she took him out of school and put him in a reputed tutorial. When the results were out last sweltering June, her son had got through to one of India’s prestigious IITs although his Board exam (which he gave in private) results were nothing to write home about. Yes it was a definite personal victory. But beyond that victory lies a sense of shame for all of us. It has proved conclusively how redundant the Indian education system has become. On the other hand there are incidents (numerous I’m sure) of students scoring in their nineties yet unable to get through even the prelims of competitive exams. Thus we have come to a sad turning point in our history. Do we really need to send our children to school? And that too at a point when schools all over India are gradually abandoning their co- cur...