The education system in India is very highly segmented. While a category of the population gets free education in government schools, some schools charge heftily and fees could go up to Rs. 10 lakhs a year and including security deposit and admission charge it goes up to a whopping Rs. 17 lakh. Imagine spending 10 lakhs a year on school’s tuition fees. Many businesses don’t even have their yearly revenue so much. Now imagine a student from a free government school and a student from an expensive Doon school competing together. Highly unfair. We know who has the competitive advantage and who will succeed when it comes to normal job search. But what are the factors that distinguish these two students and what is the reason behind these distinguishing factors? Let’s analyze.
Let’s consider two average students from Anna University having the same CGPA. One belonging to a financially stable family got his Anna University transcript and other documents ready and went abroad to complete his master’s degree. The other having a financial burden never needed his academic transcripts and started a job search locally. It is pretty much obvious that the student who went abroad got a better job, better salary and a better lifestyle. In short, we can consider him more successful. So, in this case, we can say the financial situation of the family became the deciding factor.
Now take the same example. One student went abroad and the other started preparing for UPSC. One got a job in an IT company in London and the other worked hard to become an IAS officer. So now, in this case, money didn’t matter much. What mattered was the dedication and hard work. So if someone blames his financial situation for his failure, then he is to blame himself. We know people like Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, Dr BR Ambedkar studied hard and became what they are. Not only studies in every field, but hard work and dedication have also made rags to riches. For example, Shahrukh Khan, PM NarendraModi, Narayana Murthy, etc. Not to forget the richest Indian family Ambanis were once known to be poor.
In India, we find different types of education for different kinds of people. Financially backward people study in free government schools and graduate from colleges with low tuition fees which sometimes have no teacher to teach. Few do vocational training and courses like ITI, diploma engineering, etc. hoping to get any job to sustain in their life. The other classes studying in expensive schools have a competitive advantage over all other segments of students. They are taught how they can grow the money they already have. Basically, the riches are taught how to get richer. And the rest, middle-class students study in average colleges. Some get their gtu transcript, go abroad and improve their career opportunity. For others, it is a ‘do or die’ kind of situation. Having such a diverse education segment in India, do you think it is unfair for students born in financially backward families? Or do you believe it’s the hard work and dedication that makes one successful?
