When Guru Dhronacharya during an archery exercise asked the Kauravas and the Pandavas “What do you see?”, he received answers such as a bird, leaf, mango etc. However, when Arjuna was asked the same, he replied “I see the bird’s eye and nothing else”.
The irony is that this is what happened with today’s approach to learning, students see the fame, money and glamour behind the lab-coats and no one is appreciating the tremendous hard work that goes into earning one. Since, no coaching institute will teach the essence of a “gurukul.”
Every corner of our country has a coaching centre now. But isn’t the quantity overpowering the quality? The impulse to be competitive, pre-mature ageing and score-biased friendships are bespoiling naïve brains.
Education is becoming more expensive each year and the sector grows 15% annually, unregulated. Data says that 83% students have opted for coaching centres this year and the number is predicted to increase. Coaching centres amount to tunnel vision with respect to careers, make misleading promises, and arrest the rounded development of the individual.
You might have noticed that the day after results are announced, newspapers publish a list of top students on the front page. The student who achieved the top rank often claims they used platform X for modules, platform Y for past question papers, and platform Z for mock tests. But is this genuinely helpful guidance for another student with similar aspirations? Could it not also plant seeds of resentment among peers?
These packages often lure students in with discounts, yet there’s no end to the associated costs, especially considering those who can afford private tutors. Is this not fostering a sense of social status and highlighting disparities in access to resources?
Schools and self-study should ideally offer a holistic approach to developing skills-based learning. Parents, and especially doctors, should encourage children to value co-curricular activities alongside academics, as this nurtures skills and cognitive growth. Evidence-based studies show that students who perform well in school have better outcomes, but no such studies support the same claims for coaching institutes.
At the end of the day, we must ask ourselves whether the outcomes are truly worth the relentless grind and the social and emotional costs associated with coaching centres.
