Freedom to choose one’s academic path is still a roadblock in the Indian education system. In large parts of the country, academic choices are dictated by emotional reasons, financial constraints, gender stereotyping and other factors. For some students, everything but a personal choice and curiosity takes a stranglehold on the decisions.

This lack of freedom is not just limited to students. In the case of government and government-aided schools, parents, too, are at the receiving end. Parth.J. Shah, in his piece for Ideas for India, in 2013, suggested that not giving parents a choice, at an early stage of schooling, has a negative impact on the future of a child’s education. Further, he believes that government policies limiting the role of the principal and management hinder the management’s scope of action.

 

A Story of Hope and Responsibility

 

Talking of freedom of choice in the Indian education system, here’s a small story of how it can allow kids to discover their niche, their passion and find for themselves a career that they enjoy. My introduction to the story began with a conversation I had with an auto driver on my way to work. It’s a practice for me to converse with auto/cab drivers in order to add value to time and understand their point of view and response to experiences they undergo.

The driver said, he hails from a small village in the hinterlands of Karnataka and his only purpose of life was to see his children excel in academics and establish a career that doesn’t involve the hardships that he has to make do with.

 

Persistence Matters

 

“It was a rude shock. I couldn’t come to terms with my son’s poor performance in school tests and exams. Every year, I prayed just to see him get through exams. While he didn’t fail, he barely managed to scrape through. This continued till class 10. Every result day was a disappointing one for the family. The ordeal continued for years,” says the father as he recounts those days of anxiety, disillusionment and fear.

As he continued talking, his eyes lit up all of a sudden. You could tell from his face that there was an unexpected change in his son’s performance. A year after the ‘just pass’ class 10 result, the results of class 11 saw a turnaround. The same continued and got even better in class 12. His son had scored a whopping 92%. More info.

This, surely, visibly, was beyond the wildest dreams of anybody who knew the boy. After achieving the same level of excellence at the university level, he is now replicating the same at the postgraduate level. He hopes to build a career in the world of finance.

 

The Crux of Change

 

But what triggered the change? How did an underperformer find his true potential? The answer, simply put, is that he studied the subjects of his choice after class 10. He could focus on all the topics he liked and wasn’t forced to study Science and History. He despised these subjects with all his heart.  

A small, mundane story of a father struggling to realise his dreams through his son’s success has lessons of immense value. The most important being the courage to trust your child’s choice and give them the freedom to pursue is rewarding. In this story, the father’s refusal to give up, complimented his son’s motivation and self-belief. Two, academic success does not happen overnight. Three, hard-earned success that stems from perseverance lasts longer.

So, help your kids to find their passion. Doing so, can be the most effective way to do your part in transforming the current ‘Indian education system’. 

If you’re in doubt, you could use the driver’s advice: “Let them fail trying. Let’s not fail to respect their choice. That way, we teach them the single most important lesson of owning up”.

Also Read: Innovation in Education: Beyond the Technology Perspective

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