top of page
Gradient Background   _edited_edited.jpg
Search

Rethinking Education and Killing Efficiency

Writer's picture: manjari43wmanjari43w

The 10th of September is observed as World Suicide Prevention Day. A day before that, a 21-year-old student at IIT Guwahati was found hanging from the ceiling in his hostel room.

Students, who'd seen far too many friends succumb to the warzone that is the Indian education landscape, raged out as the whole campus erupted with protests. Refusing to let this psychological terrorism be normalized, the pain and heartbreak of such atrocities materialized as admin buildings were surrounded and special forces called for faculty's security. The whole campus demanded, in unison, the resignation of a select few inhumane characters. But no need for worry, as after a handful of resignations and empty promises, the situation remains unchanged. Dead children and their dead dreams are still mere statistics. For administration, they are still a slight nuisance, tarnishing their institute's prestigious name. And the parents of undead students still want their kids to crack IIT.



How did we allow education to become the ugliness that pushes students to the very edge of their mental strength? Is there some manufacturing defect churning out “feeble-minded weak little snowflakes” who can't handle hard work? Or is it all the fault of that damn phone? A quick scan of our immediate surroundings reveals flaws at every step of the way. An outdated syllabus that demands thorough memorization of provided material, a government body that is more than unwilling to encourage any real learning, and a severe lack of real options when it comes to jobs that you can live off of, leading to an ethos that leaves students with a handful of career choices to choose from and a set of parents and guardians that make it their life’s work to make their children fall in line with the most efficient path to “success” laid out for them while comparing them to the shining examples of Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs. And so it is the government and the “system” that we blame. And so we live out our lives chanting the holy phrase of conformity, ‘it is what it is’. But all such big and hefty social issues have their roots in the tiny crevices of our daily lives. The way we think about time, our metrics for success, and our very purpose in life is causing the youth to become so short-sighted that there's barely anything beyond the letter on the marksheet.



We can start unpacking a student's psyche by making some radical generalizations about the structure that has been perfected to educate the masses in the most effective way possible, the breeding grounds for obedient and efficient factory workers, our schools.

Modern schooling systems find their roots in the extremely harsh and rigid Sunday schools of 19th-century Britain and derive heavy inspiration from the works of American mechanical engineer, Fredrick Winslow Taylor who wrote the seminal piece, “Principles of Scientific Management” that revolutionized work efficiency and continues to influence modern theories on efficient management. It is a widely accepted theory that the Western schooling system was founded with the very intention of creating a better and prepared workforce for the factories. Fast forward a couple of years and we're now living in a society that values out-of-the-box thinking and individuality. But the foundations of our schools remain unchanged.


Schools are sold to us as learning hubs that foster creativity and teach problem-solving skills while equipping us with the modern-day skills required by an industry of our choosing. But

despite repackaging the same curriculum under better-sounding names and offering superficial choices in subjects, we are still left with a system way behind its time. The syllabus is far removed from any real-world application as students are expected to cram up easily available facts and figures as a part of “learning”. The Economic Survey 2023-24 shows that nearly half of the fresh college graduates in India aren't employable and lack the necessary skills required by the industry. Despite wasting precious years over rote learning and submitting useless assignments, college graduates are expected to run to YouTube, Coursera, and Skillshare to learn the skills necessary for bare minimum employment.


How often have you needed to prepare a meal or sew a button on your shirt and realised just how ill-equipped we all are for life? Disciplines like home science, emotional intelligence, strengthening relationships, dealing with stress and failure, and having a positive outlook on life either do not exist or are not valued. Underfunded arts departments are a cry for help. Arts, philosophy, spirituality, and sports give meaning and beauty to our lives. And if we are to believe the dystopian aim of our schooling system of turning us into mindless machines, these disciplines are deliberately kept out of our curriculums. Taylor minces no words while describing the job description of a factory line worker as he says, “Now one of the very first

requirements for a man who is fit to handle pig iron as a regular occupation is that he shall be so stupid and so phlegmatic that he more nearly resembles in his mental makeup the ox than any other type. The man who is mentally alert and intelligent is for this very reason entirely unsuited to what would, for him, be the grinding monotony of work of this character.” Art requires creativity and seeing beyond the obvious. It demands curiosity. It is unpredictable and might not always generate the best returns on investment. And hence, art is undesirable. Hence, art graduates are unemployed or baristas in your local coffee shop.


The effective and deliberate process of stifling creativity and thinking by schools while rewarding blind obedience and discipline makes for children who can unquestioningly specialise in monotonous labour. We've all experienced the utter shame and embarrassment of having to stand outside the classroom for forgetting to bring our ID cards or not having our shoes properly polished. The fear of punishment makes it less likely for us to repeat the same atrocity of wearing the wrong socks to school and instills in us a lesson for life to follow the rules established by the authorities. The goal here is not to ensure a proper dress code as some morally correct standard to uphold but to make us habituated to following rules unquestioningly, even those with no inherent value. So a compelling case can be made against schools that fit each student in the same mold and churn out perfectly mindless machines while discarding the low-grade substandard products. Navigating this structure during the formative years of our lives makes us wholeheartedly accept our glorious destiny of becoming Employees of the Month.



Our culture is obsessed with efficiency. Being efficient in life is a virtue. Producing the most results from the least amount of input while wasting the least resources makes for an efficient system that increases productivity and profits. It is the quickest route from point A to point B. Far too many engineers and business consultants have walked down a path that generated tempting results. And so all we must do in our pursuit of “success” is walk down the same road really really fast. Spending precious time exploring alternatives is a waste and hence undesirable. A blueprint to success (almost always including an MBA degree) is handed to us

by our parents and teachers, and the faster we walk the trail with the least distractions, the more successful we are. Perfect attendance in schools and even in workplaces is rewarded. Sick leaves are limited and showing up to work with a terrible headache is chivalrous. Work-life balance is an excuse for being lazy. Because every second not spent chasing after money is a second wasted. Happiness and success in life shouldn't be put to the same standards as some mass-produced candy. The flow of the world cannot be measured and predicted to generate the quickest route to becoming a millionaire. Tying oneself down by a career picked in a moment of immaturity keeps us from participating in the all-singing, all-dancing chaos of life. A child pursuing engineering for 3 years before finally discovering their interest in fashion design shouldn't be deemed a quitter. Switching career paths at 40 isn’t a sign of failure.


Efficiency goes hand in hand with productivity, another concept that has a chokehold on our society. And while making the best use of the limited time allowed to us on god’s green earth isn't wrong, what is defined as a “productive task” has completely missed the mark. Spending every possible moment locked up in a room and studying is a societally accepted standard for being productive. Missing important family events and jeopardizing personal relations to ace an exam are virtuous actions. All hobbies can be capitalised. All interests need to be turned into a side hustle. If it isn't a money-making machine, it's not worth our time.



We all become victims of this culture of dehumanisation. We lose sight of the inherently valuable things right in front of us. We prefer profits over people. We value rationality over intuition. Passion is a luxury affordable only to a mind hitherto unperturbed by the harsh reality. Trying to understand the meaning of life is a pretentious and pointless pondering of an unemployed man. The farther away a job is from enhancing lives and adding value to society, the higher the pay. And so with a stifled heart and a pocketful of hush money, we try to make it through a pointless existence. A polluted education system and parents who are terrified of their child’s individuality are only the symptoms of a very sick society. From a letter on a mark sheet to assets for a company to pity cases in a newspaper headline, students are dehumanized every step of the way. And a depressing understanding of mental health challenges worsens the situation with rampant victim blaming. Instead of recognizing the flaws in the system, the victims are dismissed as feeble-minded and foolish.

Manipur is a magnificent place with lush hills, emerald-green valleys, and turquoise lakes. It is also a burning state with intense insurgency and violence. Surely no one in their right mind would choose to visit the place under these circumstances. Why, then, are nearly 14 lakh students enrolling in JEE exams every year? Why are almost 3 lakh teenagers sent to Kota every year and expected to come out unscathed from the suicide hub of India? Lifeless eyes and still bodies of children in the ‘spring of their life’ deserve intense panic and alarm. The miserable state of the global education standard and the gross inadequacies of the Indian education system are blatantly obvious. And since we mere individuals are powerless against the big bad authorities, we are absolved of any and all responsibility, right?


Bigger structural changes, like providing employment opportunities and equal value to all jobs in an attempt to decongest the select few career paths and reduce the cutthroat competition, have to be entrusted to the government. But policy and structural changes are merely the starting points and will come to a screeching halt if not met with a vigorous shift in mindset. The dehumanising nature of society is perpetuated by our obedience and so, non-conformity becomes our greatest weapon. Society can be rehumanised by allowing individuals some room to make a few mistakes and be flawed and confused. Failure needs to be given the irreplaceable value it adds to our lives. Being young and a little reckless isn't how the damage gets done. Take a break from the chase and leave yourself unoccupied. Boredom isn't a sin and an idle mind only can create something profoundly new. Our priorities need mending. Money cannot be allowed to be the end all be all of our existence, especially at a time when comparison has gone global. With social media exposing us to only the best parts of everyone’s lives, our own possessions will always fall short. Building strong relations instead of “networking” takes much of the power away from these arbitrary symbols of success. Preserving our individuality and sense of whimsy is the only way to rebel against the shepherd trying to beat us all into line.

25 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

©Aasira 2024

bottom of page