This week, my home page on Facebook was full of pictures of school farewells at a time when, across the country, a record 2.26 million students gear up for their Class XII board examinations. As myriad nieces and nephews prepared to face a world outside school in the age-old rite of passage, their happy pictures in grown up clothes reflected hope and excitement. I was struck by how most students in the photographs seemed to be smiling, as if they were all confidently looking forward to whatever life had in store for them. And then I met Sagar, a 17-year-old looking forward to his farewell in a government school. His father is an itinerant vendor, his mother, a domestic worker. His parents have spent everything they've earned on educating him and his younger sister. With his Class XII examinations barely a week away, there's the sense of a mission almost accomplished. However, now that he is poised to complete school, the family has very varied ideas about what the boy should do next.
"I don't know what to do," said the confused 17-year-old. "I've been getting 60 to 70 per cent marks in all my tests and exams, and I know I stand little chance against other students applying to Delhi University. The cut-offs are so high!" Although his parents have somehow managed to put him through tuitions and extra classes this year, he says he'll be lucky if he were able to maintain his academic record, rather than better it. "It'll be such a miracle if I gain admission into any course in a Delhi University college," he sighed. "Not only is the university fee structure very low, I feel a college degree will help me land a decent office job and salary that allows me to rise higher in life," he said. "If not, I think it may be best to start working and join evening college or something... Maybe that way, I'll be in a position to at least pay my own fees!"
Sagar faces twin obstacles: first, being an average performer, his options among the capital's hotly-competitive undergraduate colleges are going to be severely limited. Second, given his family circumstances, the good private courses are going to be out of bounds since they are too expensive. "Many of my friends want to do Hotel Management as it is interesting and holds the promise of lucrative jobs. Also, since the subject is more practical than theoretical, it is suitable for students who aren't necessarily academically inclined," he said. However, the fee structure of Hotel Management courses is very high. "My mother came back from work one day with a brochure from a nursing institute. It cost Rs 70,000 per annum and she thought that with some scrimping and saving, they could afford it. Both my parents got excited about nursing, saying that it would give me steady employment later. But you have to be of the right bent of mind to become a nurse..." he said moodily. "I can't just choose an option only because it is relatively affordable and easy to get into!"
It is indeed sad that in the intensely competitive world that we've allowed our children to inhabit, one has to be academically brilliant or very rich to be able to choose what to do after school. But what about the Sagars of this world? What is their government school education worth when it dooms them to lag behind in the race to Delhi University? Anyway, as I wished him good luck for his upcoming exams, Sagar thanked me and smiled, "I've studied as hard as I could. Now all I can do is wait to see what's in my destiny..."
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