#657
Context: My conversations with Lalitha as well as I stumbled up on few youtube videos on School chaos. (Shared with her) Also Suresh Sadagopan's chapter " Apple of the eye" in his book( If God was your financial planner).
As a math coach like Lalitha, working with students from Grades 8 to 10 across various boards, you see the cracks in India’s schooling system up close. It’s a mess—chaotic, confusing, and often failing the very students it’s meant to serve. From misaligned curricula to overburdened teachers and naive parents, the system is at a breaking point. Let’s unpack the major issues, including a few you might not have considered, and why our schools, the foundation of nation-building, are churning out widgets instead of well-rounded youngsters.
1. A Curriculum Mess: No Alignment, No Student Focus
India’s education system is a patchwork of boards—CBSE, ICSE, IGCSE, IB, and countless State Boards—each with its own approach to teaching. While diversity sounds nice, the reality is a lack of alignment that confuses students and kills their interest. For instance, CBSE emphasizes rote learning for exams like JEE,(I heard podcast on this with Sabhir Bhatia this morning) while IB focuses on critical thinking but demands heavy project work. State Boards often lag in rigor, leaving students unprepared for national competitions. Lalitha, coaching across these boards, likely sees students struggling to bridge these gaps with no clue on what hits them. The curricula rarely prioritize what kids actually enjoy or need for real-world problem-solving. Instead, they’re designed to churn out exam-ready robots, not curious learners. As I say "With everything in India, it is First World thinking / ambition, and Thrid world Support systems" proven in Education too...!
2. Hefty Fees, Yet Coaching Is a Must
Parents shell out anywhere from ₹2 lakhs a year for State Board schools to a staggering ₹15 lakhs for IB programs in Grade 10. You’d think that kind of money would buy quality education, right? Wrong. Students are still forced to fork out another couple of lakhs for private coaching in subjects like math or science just to keep up. Why? Schools often fail to deliver deep conceptual understanding, leaving kids reliant on external tutors. It appears that the coverage is not sufficient for the weakest. Worse, when parents question this, schools sometimes retaliate by targeting their kids—subtle grade tweaks or extra scrutiny. It’s a system that punishes inquiry and thrives on dependency. With 99.99999% rating not enough to secure seats in to higher studies, what options do parents have? Sad reality!.
3. Teachers: Overburdened and Underprepared
Teachers, often hailed as nation-builders, are stuck in a tough spot. Many are qualified on paper but skip crucial aspects of learning in their rush to “complete portions.” Lalitha probably notices this when her students arrive clueless about foundational math concepts. But can we blame teachers? They’re juggling administrative tasks, extracurricular activities, and endless paperwork, leaving little time or energy for actual teaching. Professional development is often a checkbox exercise, not a genuine effort to upskill. The result? Burnt-out educators who can’t inspire or engage, and students who suffer the consequences. Oh yes, only very few teachers are paid a good salary, for the rest it is shockingly low, so where is motivation for them to strive?
4. The Myth of the “Brand Name” School
Parents, especially those who faced socio-economic hurdles in their own youth, believe a fancy school name or board will set their kids up for life. They’re swayed by glossy brochures, grand campuses, and promises of “holistic development.” But the truth is, a school’s brand doesn’t guarantee maturity, critical thinking, or even academic success. Adding insult to injury is the franchaise model, where a reputed school sells its brand name based on decades of growth, and then all go scot free. The focus on pomp over substance misleads parents into pouring hard-earned money into systems that often prioritize image over education. It’s a blind faith that schools exploit, and kids pay the price with stress and unmet expectations.
5. Government Apathy: Schools Left to Fend for Themselves
The government, as with many issues in India, turns a blind eye. There’s little regulation to ensure schools meet basic standards, let alone innovate. This laissez-faire attitude lets schools—especially private ones—run like businesses, prioritizing profits over learning. From arbitrary fee hikes to cutting corners on teacher training, the lack of oversight creates a free-for-all where quality education takes a backseat. Meanwhile, public schools, especially in rural areas, are often underfunded and understaffed, widening the gap between haves and have-nots.
6. Schools as Widget Factories
Schools are supposed to shape mature, accomplished individuals, but many are turning into factories that produce exam-passing widgets. The obsession with marks and ranks overshadows creativity, emotional growth, and practical skills. Subjects like art, music, or even physical education are often treated as afterthoughts. Life skills—like financial literacy or mental health awareness—are barely touched. If we don’t rethink this approach, we’re setting up a generation that’s book-smart but ill-equipped for life’s challenges.
7. The 2-5% Success Myth
Sure, 2-5% of students shine—cracking IIT-JEE, NEET, or landing abroad for higher studies. But is that the school’s doing? More often, it’s the student’s personal ecosystem: supportive parents, access to top-tier coaching, or sheer grit. Schools love to claim credit, but they’re often just bystanders. For the other 95%, the system offers little beyond stress and a piece of paper called a degree. It takes them nowhere.
8. Mental Health: The Ignored Crisis
One issue that’s often swept under the rug is student mental health. The pressure to perform in a hyper-competitive system—coupled with very high parental expectations (Norm in 2025, makes me wonder!) and social media comparisons—takes a toll. Schools rarely have trained counselors, and when they do, they’re overstretched. Students facing anxiety or depression are told to “tough it out” rather than given real support. Lalitha might see this in her students: kids who are bright but crumbling under pressure. This isn’t just a side issue—it’s a crisis that’s breaking our youth.
9. Technology: A Missed Opportunity
While the world races toward AI and digital learning, many Indian schools are stuck in the Stone Age. Smartboards, when they exist, are often for show. Online learning tools are underutilized, and coding or tech skills are barely taught outside elite institutions. In a country that prides itself on IT prowess, this is a shameful oversight. Schools could use tech to personalize learning or make subjects like math more engaging, but instead, they cling to outdated methods.
6 /10 top schools are from China, shows mirror.. Yes only consolation, US /UK Schools same horror show. (May be worse than India!)....
10. Where Indian Schools Stand Globally and How to Move the Needle
Globally, India’s school education system lags significantly, with no Indian schools ranking among the top 200 in international benchmarks like the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). In 2009, when Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh participated in PISA, they ranked second to last among 74 regions, with only 45% of eighth-graders able to read simple English sentences or perform basic math. India’s focus on rote learning, high student-teacher ratios (often 28:1 in primary schools), and underfunded infrastructure (2.9% of GDP vs. global leaders like Finland’s 6.9%) keep it behind countries like Singapore, Finland, or Estonia, which prioritize critical thinking, teacher training, and digital integration. To move the needle, Indian schools must act decisively: adopt project-based learning to foster creativity, invest in rigorous teacher training (like Finland’s master’s-level programs), integrate technology meaningfully (e.g., Estonia’s digital classrooms), and engage communities via parent-teacher associations, as Brazil does, to tailor education to local needs. Reducing exam-centric stress and aligning curricula across boards to emphasize skills over marks can also help. Schools, not just the government, must take ownership—innovate, collaborate, and prioritize student well-being to compete globally.
A Call to Action
India’s schooling system is at a crossroads. Without serious reform—aligned curricula, better teacher support, government accountability, and a focus on holistic growth—we’re failing our kids. Parents need to demand transparency, not just chase brand names. Schools must prioritize learning over profits. And the government? It’s time to step up and regulate, fund, and innovate.
As Lalitha sees every day, the potential in our students is immense. But potential alone isn’t enough—it needs a system that nurtures, not stifles. Let’s stop producing widgets and start building a generation of thinkers, creators, and leaders. The future of our nation depends on it.
What are your thoughts? What can be done to change course?
Karthik.
5/5/25.
PS: I was to write about 80 years completion of II WW, today thinking today is 80th Anniversary. I checked and found it is 8th May, so this post on Indian education is impromptu.
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