Schooling and Admission Doldrums: Child’s Education – A Mysterious Affair

Schooling and Admission Doldrums: Child’s Education – A Mysterious Affair

Tattered Thoughts – The Education Addiction

It was a busy yesterday at one of Times Education Fairs in Mumbai. It’s also inspiring to see such a student crowd, many with parents, coming in to find career options. Sometimes I wonder if, more career options create confusions. But at the same time being an education consultant, I like to see students opting for enterprising options or at least taking the pains to find them. It’s unfortunate how the system runs here (in India) where a student who has done his Commerce after 10th std. will nearly never have a chance to study engineering and so many such other dead ends remain in existence. However, this is besides the point. The real wound lies in the consequence of the perceived competition between students. And truly, to much extent, this competition is between their parents. Parents cannot be entirely blamed for pushing their kids to do well who ultimately want their children to excel. But it’s sad to find the kids in stress on account of their parents’ thought process.

By afternoon, having met more than 50 students wishing to study in different countries, I watched a keen father of a very young student waiting to ask me a few too many questions (one could make out). His chance came and hurriedly, he requested his son to say what he had in mind. Looking at his face and height, I was assuming to hear some questions on possibilities of studying abroad after his 10th or 12th std. or seeking to understand more career options. And here goes the question:

“Sir, I want to do my MBA. I am in my 9th std. now. I know I will work hard in my 10th std. and score more than 80 % marks overall. What should I do and can I apply now?”

I only just managed to hold myself up. I must mention here that our position in the fair was somewhere in the centre, before which this family may have had a chance to easily speak to at least 10 other consultants. I was furious (which I didn’t show to them), not because at that stage my time was valuable, but simply because I failed to understand the kind of stress that this kid would be under or will have to go through for the next 7 to 8 years of his life. And what happens when the time comes for him to make out an application to one of the Top Business Schools and he would be denied admissions then because of the fierce competition. Rest aside, his career start after his MBA and the pay package and more. I simply smirked, then laughed and asked the student to just ‘enjoy’ his life and his current studies until the time comes for him to make a Masters level education application. Hearing my answer, the parent seemed dejected to whom I just mentioned that it’s too early for him now and that he should start thinking about this in the second year of his degree level studies.

After a couple of hours, I had a chance meet with this parent at the canteen, while sipping over a cup of coffee. I probably did not have to, but best found to explain to the parent that his child can come under terrible stress if everyone around him persists on pushing him further. It was just too early and let him enjoy his life. In the next 5 minutes, he politely addressed to the issues he was facing and a whole lot of sentimental happenings. He only seemed aversely passionate about seeing his son become a genius in the future. I gave up….. and moved back with a request to join my stall.

Parents can be very ignorant about the current situation. But it would be nice to identify and analyse a few facts before they get their kids to meet with the reality. Given, the unawareness and the incessant turn that education has taken in India, I do not entirely blame the guardians. A Masters level study here has become a compulsion. There seems to be a dearth of value-based vocational programmes (though these can be found in abundance, at least seen in newspapers). And I do not understand what is with the word: “MBA”? True, it provides “jobs”, “promotions” and to many, “reputation”. However, I would not be surprised to question a few HR Managers for their reasons to hire only an MBA graduate and many would reply in the affirmative about their lack of knowledge on Masters in a specialized field (like in Marketing, Finance and more). To top it up, every other Institution in India wishes to or are running an MBA and in most likelihood, all have enough students to run profitably and successfully for the subsequent years.

The irony is that some intelligent students too equally enjoy being ignorant. They would be happy to do an MBA program in India without having work experience and when similar opportunities are available in countries like the USA, the UK, Singapore and more, they simply start questioning why a foreign Institution would want to accept them when they are only a fresh graduate. This question arises before not having read the course content, not knowing where on the map that foreign university exists, which specialization to study – simply, they haven’t a clue!

Tattered thoughts – students enjoy spoon-feeding at the degree level studies in India; in most places their attendance in the lectures is pathetic (the least to say); most do not have access to libraries and if they do, they never carry their library cards; graduate level education may have become compulsion for ensuring that a resume looks appealing; and for some it’s a necessity to get married. Finally, is MBA an obsession? Is it that Indian Institutions should all start a 5 year integrated Masters (or with an MBA) to ensure students fight for more study levels?

Here we are with the whole new Education Addiction…..