Education is believed to prepare children to live better lives in a civilized society. According to urban life standards, education is necessary, and uneducated people are often considered to be of a different status. As a result, education has gradually become a status symbol rather than an option, shifting from being optional to most necessary. Even skill development courses require a basic level of graduation, although skilled courses only need basic education.
With the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (or as I call it, Artificial Foolishness), education and AI have warned us that there may be no jobs left for humans in the coming years. This is already becoming apparent, as many jobs are being taken over by AI. Every day, more people are becoming jobless, and there are no opportunities for young people. Corporations consider them useless or unable to fit in anywhere. How did they become useless? Today, education doesn’t necessarily require a teacher, and teachers have become undervalued.
India is grappling with a significant mismatch between higher education and employability. A recent report indicates that 83% of engineering graduates and nearly 50% of MBA holders are graduating without job offers or internships, highlighting a disconnect between academic curricula and industry requirements. Furthermore, only 51% of Indian graduates are considered job-ready, with a graduate unemployment rate of 29.1%, significantly higher than the 3.4% for those without formal education
The system is deceiving common people, especially parents, as they have nothing to offer their kids, who are then considered useless and unable to find jobs. Due to their addiction to technology, they lack awareness of common knowledge and are unable to live independently. At the same time, technology teaches them about their rights and independence, but they don’t know what to do with this knowledge. Many kids are lazy and unaware of basic things like where food comes from or the uses of various items. After their parents are gone, they may be unable to live independently or will completely depend on the market.
The integration of AI into education and the workforce is a double-edged sword. While AI offers opportunities for personalized learning, there are concerns about over-reliance. A survey revealed that 85% of educators and students in India find the availability of AI tools overwhelming, raising questions about the balance between technological assistance and human cognitive development .
In the employment sector, AI is beginning to replace roles traditionally considered secure. Bill Gates highlighted that AI could significantly reduce job shortages in fields like medicine and education by handling administrative tasks and improving efficiency. However, this also implies a shift in job dynamics, potentially affecting employment opportunities in these sectors.
There’s a growing concern about the diminishing focus on skilled trades and creative professions. The allure of white-collar jobs has led many to overlook vocational training and artistic careers, resulting in a shortage of skilled labour in various industries. This trend underscores the need to revalue and promote diverse career paths that align with individual talents and societal needs.
Instead of burdening young minds with outdated, conventional systems of education that lead them nowhere, often making them redundant in a world fast taken over by AI, we must shift the focus. Let’s nurture their innate creativity, their natural instincts, and the unique skills they carry within. Education should not suppress purpose; it should help them discover it. Let children unwind, unlearn the noise, and reconnect with what makes them truly human.
Despite this, many poor parents spend their hard-earned money to educate their children, hoping they will secure good jobs in the future. Unfortunately, there may be no jobs left in this unstable world. So why are they educating them? Just for the sake of education, they follow the system like fools, which only leads to stress and a sense of uselessness later. Instead, why can’t they focus on learning about livelihood in this unstable world to feel like they’ve truly lived? Why do we need campuses today to feed this system? Most children depend entirely on technology for their education, using tools like ChatGPT. What is the meaning of this education? We are raising children like broiler chickens.
Apart from all this, what are campuses offering today? Is there any guarantee that your kids will return in a normal state? Highly drug-addicted campuses offer nothing but making kids useless. Why should we send our kids to such bad places? What’s the need?
There have been alarming incidents of drug abuse among students in India. In Hyderabad, over 60 students from schools and colleges were booked for drug use, prompting authorities to initiate awareness campaigns and enforce stricter regulations. Similarly, in Chennai, a police raid near a college led to the detention of 19 students and the seizure of narcotics and related paraphernalia. In Kerala Many schools had reported drug usages even in upper primary class children. This is a real alarm.
In the past, children had commitments to their parents and society, but unfortunately, today’s education only offers stress and a useless certificate.
Caught in the relentless loop of LKG to 12th, it feels unbreakable, especially for middle-class families. I still see people I know proudly sharing their children’s 5th or 6th standard report cards: full marks in this subject, accolades in that activity. But what does it truly mean? How do I make them understand its hollowness?
Outside this bubble, the world we’re handing to these children is far from kind. No clean air, no pure water, a failing economy, and a society drained of empathy. And within, within the very system meant to shape them, the education we offer is outdated, ineffective, and at times, even destructive. It kills their innate spark, their original thinking, their natural abilities.
In such a grim reality, one can’t help but wonder, why bring more children into this world?
Today, perhaps the truly blessed are those without children. Their journey might carry fewer agonies, and that, I can say with certainty.
Insightful take on the NIRF ranking system! It’s important for students to understand what these rankings actually reflect and where they fall short. Your earlier piece, ‘End of the Illusion Called Education,’ offered a bold perspective that adds depth to this discussion. Looking forward to more content that questions and informs the current education system.