Recapitulating our student days is such a pleasure. We had a school where we studied, played games, engaged in art, recited poetry, participated in debates, had memorable picnics, went for treks and would volunteer for NCC and NSS. We had friends.
We were smart, articulate, crazy and fashionable. We went for vacations, mingled with people around and never hated school. Almost all of us did well in life and became productive and useful citizens – a few became doctors too.
Where is that school and high school nowadays? Who has taken away all that fun and activity from our schools? Are the examinations like NEET and JEE responsible for emptying our schools of that fun and creativity? It is true that a sizeable population of our youngsters (either on their own or because of parental pressure) wants to pursue medicine and engineering, and conventional schools are not the places where one can prepare for such examinations. Mind you, these examinations need a continuous and a rigorous preparation that leaves no room for any other activity. So, coaching centers in various parts of the country hook children early and impose a spine breaking schedule on young children who lose their creativity in their quest for cracking NEET and JEE – the monster gateways to medicine and engineering.
While I feel the same pain for those who go into engineering courses through JEE, I being a doctor associated with medical education and also a mother to an aspiring medical student, would restrict my.
