Full Marks

When I think back sometimes,nostalgically,of my college days,I first thank my stars that I was a student 15 years ago,and not in 2011. Now,of course,I wouldn’t have been in a college in Delhi University (DU),since by today’s standards my grades were extremely mediocre. These days,cruelly enough,there’s no difference between a student who gets 65 per cent and 95 per cent: they’re in the same league,since there is no seat for either of them. It’s 100 or nothing,baby.

When I watch my eight-year-old son spend his summer holidays watching Michael Jackson YouTube music videos,playing on the Nintendo V,reading comics and generally doing everything but studying,I shudder at the thought of what he,and all other young students,are inevitably in for,once they get to higher classes. When he complains of being bored in the holidays,out comes his Hindi textbook and I marvel at how quickly he vanishes. My tactics need a rethink. I should be embracing Amy Chua’s Tiger Mom techniques,and insisting on 10 on 10 in every test. In the last decade,many more liberal schools have sprung up in Indian metros,preferred by parents who value sports,debating and extracurricular activities,as much as academics. This crop of students isn’t being raised to think that they need to get a 100 on 100 to succeed in life.

But clearly they do. The 100 per cent cut-off makes you laugh,if only it wasn’t such a tragic joke. We’re used to 90 per cent and 95 per cent. I even know a couple of kids who’ve got those outstanding grades. But now,it’s time to tell our children the reality out there. There is absolutely no room for error,you better get full marks,or else,the obscurest college in India,with the lousiest course,it shall be. If you’re lucky. Education,like health care,is a recession-proof business. Considering the number of India’s youth,why aren’t there hundreds of DUs across India,full of colleges like Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC),that offer 2,000 seats,instead of a measly 300? Over the decades,SRCC should have concentrated on increasing the seats,rather than increasing the cut-off. Quality higher education,sadly,is not an assured right,and so many fantastic students have to experience devastating disappointments because of colossal

government failure.

Or we’ll have to plan our future like American parents do and seriously start saving for a college fund,abroad,since admission here seems such a gigantic task. An undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania in the US costs a daunting $ 55,000 US (Rs 24.6 lakh) per year. A BBA degree in Singapore is relatively less,at $ 20,000 US (Rs 8.9 lakh). Add to that,the extra expenses of boarding and lodging,plane tickets back home,and it could cause a serious dent in your retirement plans. Most parents expect tuition expenditure at the masters level,but this much for a BA degree? Absurd.

In India still,the mark sheet,however ludicrous,is still the most transparent way to evaluate performance. Imagine,if there were admissions based on ambiguous stuff like dance,music and art,or anything intangible,marks for which were awarded at the school’s discretion. We’d have ministers kids who were great artists and musicians,the systems would be in wild disarray and completely corrupt,and it would probably be even more frustrating than it already is. Student days aren’t all they’re cut out to be.

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