Sacrifice of Childhood: Cost for Higher Education

Indian Aspirations

India aspires to become the world's third-largest economy in the next five years. With its substantial young population and wealth of professional skills, the country has positioned itself for significant economic growth. In the fiscal year 2021-22, India achieved a historic milestone by attracting the highest-ever foreign inward remittances, totalling US$ 89,127 million. These remittances represent a portion of the earnings of the large Indian workforce employed abroad. This is evidence of the economic value of human resources working abroad.

India is making strides in the global start-up landscape, ranking as the fourth-largest start-up hub. The desire to be self-employed and experience the freedom to pursue individual dreams resonates strongly in the hearts and minds of the youth in India. To fulfil this vision, there is a growing emphasis on becoming a technopreneur, necessitating a solid foundation in technological knowledge as a primary requirement. The shift in mindset and career goals challenges the existing higher education system and learning institutions to adapt and meet the demand for education that imparts the highest level of skills necessary to independently thrive in the evolving knowledge economy.

Gateway for Engineering Excellence

The prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) network has recently concluded its latest round of admissions for undergraduate engineering courses. Achieving an impressive attendance of nearly ninety-six per cent, the second round of the IIT entrance test saw participation from over eleven lakhs (1.1 million) of engineering aspirants. Most of these aspirants come from the unorganised coaching industry, which prepares students to excel in the entrance tests and secure the highest possible rank.

Over the past few decades, coaching classes have burgeoned into a formidable industry, now exceeding ten thousand crores (USD 1.25 billion) in revenue. This substantial revenue figure represents the tangible cost of harbouring the dream of becoming an engineer from the prestigious IITs.

The enduring legacy of the British-imposed education system in India persists till today. The lack of substantial reforms in the education system underscores the influence of historical paradigms on Indian decision-makers, who, perhaps, have been unable to break free from conventional thinking. Each year, over ten million students successfully pass the ten-plus-two exams administered by various boards across India. However, the subsequent challenge lies in securing admission to undergraduate courses of their preference.

This bottleneck highlights a significant disparity between the demand for quality education and the limited availability of institutions that meet this demand. Consequently, countless promising young individuals, constituting invaluable human resources for the nation, grapple with the daunting task of realising their aspirations to become engineers or doctors. The mismatch between educational demand and institutional capacity has, regrettably, become a formidable impediment, thwarting the dreams of millions.

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