Has anything changed in Education System yet?

Can you guess the blockbuster Bollywood movie that made everyone think about India’s education system?

That's right, it’s 3 Idiots—directed by Rajkumar Hirani and featuring Aamir Khan. The movie that taught us to run after excellence and not success. 

But, how do you achieve excellence? 

Well, we have Fifteen years after its release, do you think it's time for the Indian education system to watch this film again? 

Here is why we think it does need to:

1. Rote Learning: Our educational assessments still primarily measure memorization rather than true understanding. How much of our curriculum encourages students to use their intellect and creativity? Even if some of the activities kids do in school use these skills, they do not contribute to major career assessments like board exams.

2. Classroom environment: With a high student teacher ratio and vast syllabus to complete, classes are mostly one-sided oratory. Unless a student is made to discuss, cross-question, relate with daily life and revisit a concept from several angles, the bits of information just fly around in their minds instead of adding to their knowledge. 

3. Career Choices: Conversations with parents still reveal a dominant preference for traditional careers like doctors, engineers, and chartered accountants. Has the distribution of career choices among graduates shifted from 2012 to 2022?

4. Mental Health: The phrases ‘panic attack’ and ‘exam stress’ are increasingly common among students, parents, and educators. Due to the heat of competition, peer pressure (to not just kids but their parents), alot of kids have panic attacks during exams. Are we taking efforts to ease this situation by making students who are not great at academics develop confidence that their skills are no less rewarding than others? 

Well, if we do not make changes in the way we learn, the way we choose our career, the way we tackle mental health, we cannot aim for excellence. 

At ThinkNow Classroom, we focus on various facets of a student's life—academics, intellect, creativity, collaboration, communication, and problem-solving. Our 6-month curriculum is designed to help students recognize and value their diverse abilities, enhancing self-confidence.

What changes have you observed in the last decade that resonate with the movie's themes?