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By:

Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Trust Reset

As the recent protests over the NEET paper leak showed, India’s examination system has reached a point where incremental repairs are no longer enough. The appointment of a high-powered task force on examination reforms, headed by technology pioneer Nandan Nilekani, is therefore not merely an administrative response to the NEET-UG paper leak crisis but a concrete attempt to rebuild confidence in one of the country’s most important public institutions. Examinations are gateways to opportunity,...

Trust Reset

As the recent protests over the NEET paper leak showed, India’s examination system has reached a point where incremental repairs are no longer enough. The appointment of a high-powered task force on examination reforms, headed by technology pioneer Nandan Nilekani, is therefore not merely an administrative response to the NEET-UG paper leak crisis but a concrete attempt to rebuild confidence in one of the country’s most important public institutions. Examinations are gateways to opportunity, social mobility and professional ambition. For millions of students across the country, a competitive examination represents years of sacrifice by families and the possibility of a better future. When question papers leak repeatedly, evaluation systems fail or allegations of manipulation emerge, the resulting damage strikes at the idea of fairness itself. The crisis surrounding NEET-UG exposed uncomfortable vulnerabilities in the country’s examination infrastructure. The resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the subsequent appointment of Pralhad Joshi with additional charge of the ministry underlined the political seriousness of the issue. But political accountability alone cannot fix a structural problem. That is why the composition of the new task force is a move on the right direction. It brings together expertise from technology, space research, intelligence, education administration and logistics. Nilekani’s appointment is particularly significant. The former Infosys chief executive and architect of Aadhaar has experience in building large-scale digital public infrastructure involving hundreds of millions of citizens. The Aadhaar project itself was born out of a similar challenge: how to create a reliable identity system in a country where leakages and duplication weakened welfare delivery. India’s examination system now requires the same kind of thinking. The committee’s mandate to examine the entire examination lifecycle - from question paper creation and distribution to candidate verification, evaluation and results - is the right approach. The problem lies in multiple weak points where human intervention, poor security protocols and outdated processes can create opportunities for malpractice. Technology will inevitably be central to the solution. Artificial intelligence can help detect unusual patterns, blockchain-based verification can strengthen record security and better data systems can improve transparency. But a secure examination system requires independent oversight, professional management, clear accountability and swift punishment for wrongdoing. India’s National Testing Agency was created to bring efficiency and standardisation to public examinations. Its credibility must now be restored through reforms that are visible and trusted by students. The Nilekani task force has been given the difficult job of repairing that trust. The government has chosen a committee led by people with experience of managing complex national systems. It is a sensible first step. The real test will now be whether its recommendations translate into action.

Let Childhood Be Childhood

Childhood has become preparation, not experience.

I belong to an era where childhood wasn’t scheduled, measured, or evaluated. We played with mud, drew shapes on the ground, jumped over hopscotch lines till dusk, and came home with scraped knees and hearts full of joy. Life itself felt like a reward — simple, abundant, and stress-free. We lived on cloud nine without knowing the term.


Our homes were porous. Relatives dropped in without appointments, and we visited them without announcements. Neighbours weren’t strangers; they were extended family. Kith and kin were real, present, and dependable. There was attachment, emotional security, and a deep sense of belonging. We grew up knowing that even if something went wrong, there was always someone to fall back on.


Childhood then was not perfect — but it was protected.


A Startling Contrast

Today, as a tutor, I sit across from children as young as 10, 12, 13, and 14, and I hear words that were never part of our childhood vocabulary: anxiety, stress, ADHD, attention disorder, palpitations, and high blood pressure. These are no longer rare—they’re becoming disturbingly common.


As an educator and the mother of a 16-year-old, I often pause and ask: What has changed so drastically? What is stealing the childhood that children are meant to enjoy? Is it books, academic pressure, the constant push for excellence, or the entire ecosystem around the child?


The honest answer is uncomfortable but clear: it’s a combination of everything.


Changed Environment

Today’s children are growing up in an ultramodern, ultrafast, and ultracompetitive world. Life moves faster than their emotional capacity. Information is limitless, comparisons are relentless, and expectations begin early and rarely pause.


Childhood has become preparation, not experience.Children are constantly evaluated—academically, socially, and emotionally—and expected to perform, excel, multitask, and adapt, often without being taught how to handle failure, pressure, or uncertainty.


Unlike earlier generations, many no longer grow up in a naturally supportive system. Families are nuclear, neighbours distant, relatives busy, conversations replaced by screens, and emotional availability reduced—even when physical presence exists.


Losing Capacity

A difficult but necessary question arises: Have children lost the capacity to handle challenges?Not because they are weak, but because they aren’t being allowed to grow strong naturally. Earlier, resilience was built through free play, unstructured time, boredom, social conflicts, minor failures, and independent decisions.


Today, many children are constantly supervised, corrected, and controlled. Their lives are planned in advance, mistakes pre-empted, and discomfort quickly fixed. In trying to protect them, we may be unintentionally disarming them.


Today’s challenges are endless. They won’t reduce—they’ll only evolve. So the goal isn’t to shield children from them but to prepare them to face them. How? Not through pressure, constant correction, fear, or comparison—but through trust, support, and emotional safety.


Role of Parents

Be supportive. Give your children wings—but not freedom without direction. Give them guided freedom.Don’t nitpick every action, control every decision, or turn every moment into a lesson. Offer guidance and values, but allow space.


Let children make decisions, make mistakes, face consequences, and learn. A child allowed to fall learns balance. A child who is trusted learns responsibility.


When you trust your child, you’re not just trusting them—you’re trusting yourself, your values, and your guidance. If you constantly doubt your child, aren’t you also questioning your own parenting?


With the right support, love, and value system, a child may be influenced by peers, but they won’t lose their moral compass. Your upbringing becomes their inner voice. Trust anchors them—and helps them find their way back.


When a child feels anxious, it isn’t disobedience, weakness, or failure. It’s a signal—a need for reassurance, acceptance, understanding, and unconditional love. In that moment, the child needs more support, not more pressure.


Listen more. Correct less. Be present without judgement.


Children are not projects, performance reports, or reflections of social status. They are human beings in their most formative years. Let them laugh loudly, play freely, fail safely, and grow slowly. Give them roots of trust and wings of freedom.


Raising a child today isn’t easy—but raising an anxious child is harder. As parents, tutors, and carers, our greatest responsibility is not to produce high achievers but emotionally secure individuals who can face life with confidence and calm.


Give wings to your child. Let them fly. Be their safe landing.


Because a child who feels trusted, supported, and loved will always find their way — even in the most challenging world.

 

(The writer is a tutor based in Thane. Views personal.)

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