Home to 17.78% (approximately 141 crores) of the world’s total population, India stands first in the list of most populated countries globally. About 600 million individuals in the country are aged between 18 to 35, making it the criteria best fit for attempting major entrance examinations.
In a country with the largest population of youth globally, the number of individuals who sit for competitive exams are extensive. According to Institute of Chartered Accountants of India’s (ICAI) recent update on the CA Final exam, 1,16,072 candidates were admitted, and 20,446 students successfully qualified as Chartered Accountants in May 2024. Likewise, around 13 lakh students appeared for UPSC exams in 2023. Out of these, only 14,600 students qualified to appear for Mains 2023, and 2,916 finally sat for the final round of the personality test. With approximately 24 lakh individuals having applied for NEET 2024, about 13 lakh are said to have cleared the exam. As in the case of JEE, a mere 2.5 lakh made it to the JEE advanced out of 11 lakh who sat for JEE mains and approximately 1.1 lakh cracked the advanced
While ICAI hasn’t necessarily kept a bar for the CA exams apart from the Level 1 CA foundation exam that offers a maximum of 6 attempts from the date of registration, the next two, CA Intermediate and CA Final, aren’t bound by any number of attempts. On the other hand, the Civil Service Examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission of India (UPSC), have a defined category of 21-32 who can attempt the exam. The attempt limits are varied for different groups viz a general category or EWS category candidate can attempt the exam six times at large until the age of 32, OBC candidates are given nine attempts till 35 years of age, and SC/ST candidates are granted inexhaustible attempts—till the age of 37. As in the case of NEET UG and JEE, the former carries a minimum age limit of 17 years with no upper age limit and no fixed number of maximum attempts. The latter constitutes a bar of six attempts and no defined age limit as criteria to be met for undertaking the exam.
A recurring pattern is observed across these exams: the success percentage being as low as 0.1 to 0.3% to barely 20% as the highest, and despite that, the number of students undertaking these exams continue to increase year after year. According to a report from India.com, NEET UG 2024 registration surpassed 23 lakh mark, which is recorded to be the highest in past 7 years.
For most students and families alike, competitive exams in India are viewed as a highway to success. In most cases, the students are compelled by their families to undertake the exams (sometimes contrary to their aspirations) in a bid to bring about transformation in existing lifestyles. The conclusion is not always bright. Individuals belonging to the lower or middle strata of society often lack the resources for a decent education in private colleges or hospitals. A one-way ticket to government-aided colleges being these exams, explains the numbers: In NEET UG, students belonging to the non-general category were 16 lakh from the 24 lakh that registered this year, and the ratio of general category students to non-general category was 1:2 in JEE exams. The inability of Indian society to recognize a career in the majority of other fields like creatives or commerce is yet another factor that has led to generations of students being pushed into the rat race. Apart from this, entrepreneurship continues to be a restricted area for most youth, with reasons ranging from numerous financial risks involved to the certain kind of privilege that it requires. Hence, competitive exams are a simple road map: study rigorously for a year or two, give your blood, sweat, and tears for this ‘golden opportunity,’ and enjoy the perks for years to come with minimal risks. Be it the status of a government job, heavenly pension scheme, job security, health, housing schemes, as well as steady professional growth as compared to slowly climbing the corporate ladder throughout life with no pension scheme at the end of the tunnel to sustain oneself in retirement. Additionally, putting in a couple of years of hard work for a paper and passing it meritoriously sounds like a much better option than finding a job in the private sector or bearing the financial stress of exorbitant fees.
A report from Deccan Herald states that India’s seven largest employers, comprising TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Tech, Coal India, State Bank of India, and HDFC Bank, collectively increased their workforce by a modest 45,000 indicating a relatively slow hiring pace. With a grim future looming in the private sector, more and more people tend to move towards jobs in the public sector, but the road that leads to some of the most promising of them isn’t a very easy one either. And yet the craze for it refuses to die down in the forthcoming years. Given this, movies and web series, which play a massive part in the media we consume, also tend to romanticize the gruesome struggle that comes with the package more often than not.
When the number of individuals that apply is 10 times the available seats, there are bound to be negatives. To crack these exams, numerous students enrol in coaching classes, which in turn transforms into radical financial stress for the parents or guardians of many. As a result, they are prone to give into the grind with a blindfold, leaving deep psychological scars on their mental well-being. Intense pressure to crack these exams by hook or by crook leaves them with severe anxiety, schizophrenia, chronic stress, and depression. Most of these are bound to impair them for the rest of their lives. Lakhs and lakhs of students flock to the entrance-prep capital city of Kota in Rajasthan with huge ambitions year after year. It’s disheartening to read about cases of suicide being reported every once in a while, from the same. The Hindu reports about six cases of suicide in a mere span of two months this year. To top it, with cases of malpractice being reported, it gets all the more draining to keep one’s morale high and keep going. It is only with large-scale reforms in the educational sector, along with a change in the mindsets of people, would half the people break free from the clutches of this hamster wheel.
Written by Bhoomi Kagdada
Edited by Shruti Shiraguppi
