Game Of Survival

                                Who's in the shadows?
                                Who's ready to play?
                                Are we the hunters?
                                Or are we the prey?
                                There's no surrender
                                And there's no escape

                          This is a wild game of survival.

Welcome to the world beyond 12^th where ludicrous cut-offs arrest our hopes , dissatisfaction among parents is a norm, and comparision to the next-door 'Sharma ji ka beta' still prevails.

In a bid to outbid his Erudite counterparts, an individual who burns the midnight oil reckelssly the entire preparation season, only to receive a slow death to the reprimands and ridicule of the society when the results are out. Because, let's face it, we shall always have one such individual whose score shall be formidable to you, unless of course, you are the celebrated National Topper.

I believe, Delhi Univeristy has so far been doing a good hands-on job at being the mascot of this rat-race. Our Educational system has us all wired to run blatantly in pursuit of this uncanny competition where winners are few and failures most. Aditi Mishra has scored a whooping 93.2 % in CBSE 2019 but the foggy prospect of her dream college still haunts her till the DU cut-off list release. This scenario leaves us all with one question: WHO IS TO BE BLAMED?

Given the population outburst over the past few decades, the resentment among the mediocre sect of the meritorious, is amplifying so much so that the number of seats to applicants ratio is reaching its lowest each surpassing year. The un-reserved middle class and the lower middle class is the worst hit amidst this inane game of survival. With bated breaths and fearful anticipation, their hopes are but crippled when their wards pass in the exams but fail in this GAME

If we have a cursory glance on the educational system, we shall conclude that nothing much changed over the centuries. Except the transition from classroom to upcoming digital platforms for teaching & education and a few miniscule structural changes, most of it is still but the same. Our educationists and policy makers have to realise that given the changes mankind made in all walks of life, it is time for our Education system to embrace a change as well.

Unless we strive to be a nation that creates fairer ways to determine individual talent, aptitude, and ability, curiosity and learning temperaments, we will have invariably killed the 'dreamers', 'believers', 'artists' and keep bringing forth a generation with outdated calibre, compromised interests and curbed free will.