‘One Exam Should Not Be the Sole Determinant of Anyone's Future’

While India certainly has a good infrastructure for Information technology, law, and medicine; the capable graduates of the IITS, NLUS, AIIMS are a testament to the conducive ecosystem for rearing world-class professionals in those fields. The seats, however, are a glaringly low number against the number of aspirants. For instance, in 2020, nearly 16 lakh students registered for NEET, though approximately only 13.5 lakh attempted the exam in the given year according to NTA statistics. Similarly, a staggering 14 lakh students try their hand at the JEE Mains exam for a handful of seats available. The hopes and dreams of many go unfulfilled due to the paucity of seats.

Then, what of those who do not make it through the bottleneck of JEE Mains and other competitive exams? Society may feel tempted to point fingers at their ability, but that is one exam. One exam should not be the sole determinant of anyone's future.

Choices are always available. If not within the country, then elsewhere, that is, across the seven seas.

The world today is touted as a global village. The increased access and awareness has opened an array of possibilities and opportunities for those looking to expand their horizons in places in educational institutions that lie beyond their domestic and immediate environment. Universities abroad possess the educational, social, and physical infrastructure that students desire. An active student community, a reliable alumni network, ample employment opportunities, academic rigour- they stand head and shoulders above what

Scan the code for all the latest updates the traditionally renowned Indian universities can provide. These universities have enough provisions and wherewithal to ensure meritorious and able individuals don't fall through the cracks due to financial issues or any other social or personal dilemma. Students are given the liberty to structure their courses and select the papers in unique permutations and combinations thereby circumventing academic pigeonholing and encouraging critical thinking. A student can take, for instance, computer science with art, biology and even law and use those towards a career in bioinformatics, cyber law or even create their own niche to pursue and develop as a line of career. Resources are provided to facilitate overall intellectual and personality development, scores and CGPA are all but a part of the many components in their assessment metric. Students are therefore able to avail themselves of the best of resources available for a specialised knowledge they want to attain. Thus, they can advance their research or career in a healthy and competitive eco-system that encourages ingenuity and innovation.

The different environment, cultural exposure, diversity, academic standards encountered in such places is daunting, but it forces people out of their comfort zone and often stimulates explosive personal development and self-reflection and exploration. This process of displacement builds resilience, confidence, and a newfound appreciation for all the successes that one can and is able to achieve. As a matter of fact, even the admission process of such universities prompts creative utilization of one's intellect and arsenal of skills to make it through the competitive selection and secure an admission, perhaps even a scholarship or two.

The job market today demands skills and thinkers that can deliberate flexibly, logically, critically, and empathetically to structure an interdisciplinary approach that is performance-driven but simultaneously people-centric. The eclectic learning encouraged abroad supports the cultivation of these very abilities. The principles underlying the skillset endowed by these universities may seem a touch complex at first glance, but the goal is simple-to teach students 'how' to think, instead of teaching them 'what' to think. For them to become individuals who daringly challenge and overturn perceptions to scale new heights of excellence with confidence and humility.

Jitin Chawla Founder, Center of Career Development