We Need Education Reform, Not Just Examination Reform

The country is debating examination reform. Every few months, we hear about changing the pattern of examinations, reducing the burden of exams, introducing more competency-based questions, changing entrance tests, bringing in technology, or finding better ways of assessing students.

I think this is a misplaced priority.

The actual discussion should be around education reform.

I deal with students in the age group of 18–21. Whenever I ask them, “What are you reading these days?” the answer : “Sir, we are preparing for the exams.”

And this troubles me.

The youth of this country are wasting some of their most crucial years memorising facts and figures from various disciplines. They throw themselves into rote-memorising current affairs, historical facts, geographical details, constitutional provisions, economic data and thousands of other pieces of information—not because they are curious about them, but because they may appear in an examination. We have somehow managed to turn learning into preparation for an examination.

And, in the process, we rob our young people of their most productive years.

Think about a young person between 18 and 21. This is the age when one should be dreaming. Reading books that have nothing to do with an examination. Sitting in a university library and discovering ideas. Arguing with friends about politics, philosophy, society and the future. Travelling. Experimenting. Writing. Creating. Failing. Falling in love with ideas. Perhaps even discovering oneself.

Instead, a large number of our young people are sitting in coaching centres, watching recorded lectures, solving thousands of multiple-choice questions and mugging facts. At an age when they were supposed to engage with ideas, they are learning to reproduce information. At an age when they were supposed to dream, they are learning to calculate cut-offs. At an age when they were supposed to discover their interests, they are preparing to compete with everyone for everything.

No wonder we have become a nation where innovation has dried up in many spaces. We have an enormous young population, but we are directing an enormous amount of their energy towards clearing examinations rather than creating something new. The country needs freedom from this rat race.

But what could be the possible solution?

I think we need to move from standardisation of examinations to standardisation of schooling.

There must be a comparable quality of schooling across the country. A child studying in a government school in a remote village and a child studying in an expensive private school in a metropolitan city should not be growing up in completely different educational universes.

Instead of asking how we can design a better examination to identify the best candidates, perhaps we should ask: How can we create an education system that helps every child discover what they are good at?

I imagine a longitudinal portfolio of every child. Not merely marksheets and certificates, but a living record of the child's educational journey—her interests, abilities, writings, projects, questions, creativity, collaborations, participation, strengths and evolving areas of curiosity. Every stakeholder who interacts meaningfully with the child could contribute to this portfolio. Suppose a ten-year metadata of this portfolio is analysed by AI—not to determine the worth of a child, but to identify patterns in her dominant interests, abilities and inclinations. This could help us guide children towards fields where they have demonstrated sustained interest and potential. Once we apply this filter, a modest amount of competition may actually become healthier. The child will compete in a field of his or her dominant interest. Unlike the current situation, where everyone is competing for everything.

Perhaps examination reform is necessary. But education reform is fundamental. We should not merely reform the race. We should ask why so many of our young people are running it in the first place.