The Indian education system is known for its rigor and competition. This desperate pursuit of top grades is a reflection of our mindset as a society - one that views education as a guaranteed pathway to success and financial prosperity. This mindset which glamorizes the studious student, which excels and tops each class is one that is promoted throughout the early stages of the lives of Indian students. Through high expectations which intensify with the passing of every academic year, and an unforgiving environment that correlates academic superiority with the individual value of the student - a student is taught to prioritize their education over their mental health, social activities, and extracurriculars - all of which are fundamental aspects of the growth of an individual.

Despite this mindset, there are several other factors that drive this strive for academic excellence, one of which is the population. With a seemingly infinite population yet a set amount of employment opportunities and admission seats, a natural rat race occurs with students relentlessly memorizing and preparing for standardized testing accompanied by sleep deprivation and social underdevelopment.

This cut-throat rivalry has undoubtedly major, and often scarring impacts on the mental health of young people with several suffering from issues such as anxiety attacks and tragically low self-confidence. Yet educational establishments monetize off of this strife - all at the expense of the social, emotional, and mental well-being of students. Is this mental exhaustion and social isolation worth the seemingly utopian lifestyle of an engineer or doctor? One that is marketed to be free from all financial burdens living as a highly respectable, worthy member of society. Is this suffocating environment of so-called “education” truly a pathway to achieving the ideal Indian lifestyle?

The Indian Institute of Technology is an educational establishment that is idolized by a high percentage of students and parents. With its acceptance rate of approximately 0.7% to 2%, IIT beats international establishments such as MIT (4% acceptance rate) and Stanford (3.7% acceptance rate) in terms of exclusivity. This idolization and exclusivity dates back to the 1990s when IT-based multinational corporations were first established, specifically Western brands which would set up their branches in India. India was specifically suitable for these Western companies since Indians were able to speak English well, due to the idolization of Western habits - a result of colonization - and so these engineers could effectively communicate with the American offices. As well as that, the labor cost in India was particularly low, which made outsourcing jobs a lot more cheap for multinational corporations. This resulted in an increase of engineers being employed, which resulted in engineers becoming richer which set the Indian dream of pursuing engineering as a pathway to a successful, financially comfortable lifestyle.

Yet, the Right to Information (RTI) report reflected that an approximate 38% of IIT 2024 graduates are yet to secure jobs - a large increase from 2022 where the statistic was 21%, and 2021 where the statistic was 19%. Yet, IIT graduates are not only students facing unemployment. In February 2024, a tweet went viral that displayed the dean of Alumni relations of BITS Pilani requesting alumni for placement opportunities for graduating batches. If these institutions are so incredibly idolized within our society, with an acceptance rate more exclusive than Ivy League institutions, then why are graduates facing difficulties in employment? And what is the reason for this sudden change in statistics?

Skill Gap - Lack of Communication & Social Skills:

The Indian Education system prioritizes rote memorisation and overindulging in content, without a focus on application and skill-based learning. This results in students being unable to apply theoretical concepts and navigate challenges faced in the workplace or communicate effectively. This has resulted in several people calling IIT degrees “worthless” as they lack practical and life skills such as collaboration, communication, and social skills.

The Indian Economy Status & Limited Job Opportunities:

Unemployment in India is majorly among the youth. According to statistics by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI) and the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFs), in 2022 - 23, 0.2% of the unemployed population was uneducated and 7.3% belonged to educated groups of young people. This connotes that within India there isn’t a lack of jobs, there’s a lack of quality jobs - jobs that are preferred by the educated population. India’s high population is somewhat a reason for the lack of quality jobs, yet not the entire reason. While an increase in population does impact the overall competition for jobs, International economies such as the United States have displayed how an increase in population actually helps with job creation. So why isn’t this true for India? The majority of India's income comes from the service sector which involves delivery persons and salespeople - jobs that aren’t preferred by educated populations. This is due to the lack of an entrepreneurial stimulating environment. With the mass amount of corruption, there are delays and inconveniences for aspiring entrepreneurs - which explains why Indian entrepreneurs do so well Internationally but struggle to do so within India. This can further be linked to the distribution of government funds. A majority of the Indian governmental funds remain with the centralized government. In contrast, within other international economies such as the United States and China, the majority of funds are with local governments which ensures that on-ground administrators have the motivation to genuinely do their work instead of partaking in forms of corruption. As well as that, our education system does not stimulate or encourage entrepreneurship or creativity the way that it has the potential to. This increased corruption and lack of creative encouragement within schools results in low global economic participation from India, which results in lower economic growth and so a reduced amount of quality job creation. This can be reflected by the low amount of Internationally expanded Indian brands. This lack of International participation results in the lower growth of companies, which results in lower employment opportunities within these companies - once again impacting the availability of quality jobs for educated populations.

These statistics highlight the true efficiency and validity of our education system, as well as the economic crisis undergone by our Indian economy, resulting in the low employment of educated individuals.