India’s education system has long been debated, dissected, and defended. Now, it’s facing fresh criticism — not from academia, but from the startup world. Akhil Suhag, a young entrepreneur, has set social media buzzing with a post that questions the very foundation of India’s exam-driven culture.
Taking to LinkedIn, Suhag shared his frustration with the way entrance exams dictate futures in the country. His words were blunt: “The amount of talent India wastes just because of its entrance tests is ridiculous.” For him, the obsession with ranks and cut-offs doesn’t just misplace students — it crushes their potential before it ever gets to shine on the global stage.
The Wasted Years
Suhag illustrated his argument with a stark example. “A 13-year-old in India obsessed with coding—wants to be the best in the world. What does the system do? It forces him to waste 4/5 years memorising chemistry and physics (leaving maths out, as that might be important for coding) just to get into IIT/NIT, etc.”
Even after years of sacrifice, Indian students often find themselves at the mercy of rank lists. A single digit can decide whether someone pursues their passion or ends up in an unrelated stream. “Because his rank isn’t ‘high enough,’ he’s shoved into something as random as Textile Engineering—because in India, where you study is considered more important than what you study,” Suhag noted.
For many, this adds up to nearly a decade of lost time. “Eight years gone. Eight prime learning years. Instead, the system tells him: ‘Sorry, wrong rank. Wrong branch. Wrong tag.’”
Wrong Metrics, Wrong Outcomes
At the heart of Suhag’s critique is the mismatch between what exams test and what real-world careers demand. “We test how good a computer engineer one can be based on his chemistry skills,” he wrote, questioning why students in India who dream of building apps or coding AI must first endure years of studying subjects irrelevant to their path.
Those who resist the grind, Suhag argued, often pay a heavy price. Instead of encouragement, they face limited opportunities. “If instead of prepping for entrances he actually pursues coding, he gets punished. Random college, which then leads to random jobs—killing motivation along the way completely.”
The ripple effects, Suhag warned, last for years. “In India, your college determines your first job. Your first job determines your profile for an MBA. And somehow everyone believes that in a country with our population, only those who make it to these colleges are ‘intelligent.’”
The Larger Cost
Beyond wasted talent, Suhag pointed to how exams reduce futures to a single day’s performance. “So much dependence on these tests—how many lose out because they had fever that day? Or woke up on the wrong side? Anxiety? But such a large part of your life story gets written that day.”
Critics often say true talent eventually finds its way. Suhag disagreed. “People will say if you are good you will make it either way—yes you will, but it will be a lie if they also don’t say it will be much tougher in India’s rigid system.”
UPSC and Beyond
His frustration wasn’t limited to engineering or MBA aspirants. The civil services exam, India’s most prestigious, also came under fire. Suhag called it a “black hole” of wasted potential, where “hundreds of thousands of brilliant young people in India waste their prime years mugging up random trivia for 500 seats.”
He even drew a sharp comparison with the armed forces. “Even the Indian army does psychological and emotional testing—but not UPSC/IAS.”
Not Just Unfair. Destructive.
For Suhag, the conclusion was inescapable. “It’s not just unfair. It’s stupid. It’s destructive. India kills its own talent before the world even gets to see it.”
Suhag’s post struck a chord, sparking conversations among students, educators, and professionals who have long felt that India’s system rewards memorisation over creativity. Many agreed that while exams are meant to filter talent, they often end up filtering out passion.
Whether Suhag’s words trigger real reform or fade into the endless cycle of online debates remains to be seen. But his critique adds to a growing chorus demanding change: a system where a teenager’s potential is nurtured, not crushed, and where India doesn’t waste raw talent before it ever has the chance to grow.
https://thenewstudent.com/aryan-maan-outlines-priorities-as-dusu-president/