A fortnight ago the final results of IIT Advanced were announced. It is a prestigious pan India examination, in which, not just students but parents and the education industry at large invest time, diligence, disciplined focus and money. Phew, what a slew! How has IIT garnered this fame? Despite its hype and appeal to dedicated junta, I wonder – foolishly perhaps – if IIT hasn’t become more of a spectator sport than a sincere attempt to actually nurture deep love for learning, academics and research.

Add to that narrative, the macabre vista yawning ahead, if your child happens to belong to the general category. Simply put it means, out of a hundred, only fifty seats are available for the running and the ranking system will eliminate those candidates, who happen to fall into the unknown category wherein you are unfortunate enough to love a subject passionately but are unable to satisfy the required criteria of marks asked for. A general candidate is the new pariah in my country, fissured with deep caste politics and primordial injustice.

A question that has actually begun to haunt me deeply as a mother is, “Is it a crime to bring innocent children into the world?” An innocent child, lacking basic awareness of the unlevelled playing field in life’s game, nurtured with values and  guided by a wholesome vision of self to boot, stands little chance in this politically riddled competitive onslaught. I did not teach my child caste politics or even the nitty gritty of Brahminical history. I allowed him to bloom and grow into a healthy teen, who has no inkling of the animus raging in wannabe hearts that aspire not just to rub shoulders with him but out-compete him or even throw him out of the game.

Why do I vent my angst? At the risk of sounding cynical, I share my concern and pain both as parent and teacher. We, as a generation, as a people, have forgotten to dream big. We chase tiny goals and tinier agendas. Welcome to incredible India! Where is the magnanimity of soul in our community or nation that could inspire a lifetime of achievement? Today, achievement is synonymous with economic stature, a standard lifestyle and social recognition.

As a nation, we have failed our children miserably by limiting their innate potential and urge for excellence. An understanding of potential must be guided by a holistic vision that someone else doesn’t have to lose for us to win. Armed with an abundant vision, a child can scale any obstacle and keep being inspired anew. An alienation from self-knowledge can only breed anxiety, lack of connection and self-ignorance. We have not even begun to fathom, let alone measure, the detriment to the delicate fabric of human emotions.

I admit I have doubts about young children spending hour after hour, day after day, year after year slogging it out in order to outwit and compete in an inimical environment. I am uncomfortable with the implications and feel slightly unsettled by young bright alecks learning never-to-be-used formulaic Science, Mathematics and Technology at the cost of sacrificing language and the liberal arts altogether.

However there is a ray of light amid the gloom and doom that points towards the science of emotions and human relationships as being the sturdier answer to the manifold issues plaguing the imperfection of a system that can only be likened to a juggernaut. My position on the IIT competitive examinations crystallized positively as I registered something anew.

The competitors are strikingly supportive of each other. The parents are supportive of one another too. It is heart-warming to see competing teens’ parents encouraging each others’ wards as they aspire to face the mind-boggling race. They know the journey of each kid, the hard work that made each child reach a particular stage of achievement. They share  feelings of pride and anxiety. The prize at the end is not a faux metal trophy but 4-5 years of hard work ahead. The overall spirit is one of encouragement and collective joy in each other’s journey. They know something more meaningful than many words put together: someone else doesn’t have to lose for us to win. As with many other spectator sports, IIT’s appeal is an alluring chimera drawing in mindless captives, whose single-mindedness ensures their robotic existence is guided by an aim. Aimless dreamer go figure!

Archana Jha

[The author, a well known educationist, currently teaches at St Xavier’s Colleges, Digha, Patna]

  education, feature, IIT