Creating a healthy learning environment for children

Within India’s highly competitive and intense education system, the expectation placed on students to excel in competitive exams like JEE, NEET, UPSC, GATE, NDA, IIFT etc is creating a sense of anxiety and even depression, leading to emotional turmoil and mental health issues.

These exams are conducted for various fields like engineering, medicine, law among many others.

Recently, taking note of this alarming situation, the Government of India passed new guidelines restricting the enrolment of students below 16 years of age in coaching centres.

As per the guidelines, student enrolment should only be after secondary school examination. The tuition fee charged should be fair and reasonable.

The guidelines have been framed to address the need for legal framework as well as to manage unregulated growth of private coaching centres.

This change has sparked a debate on the efficacy and implementation of this new set of guidelines.

In my opinion, these newly introduced changes are long overdue and worth implementing immediately.

Yet, it is crucial to examine both sides of the argument and finally achieve a balance between academic excellence and the holistic development of a student.

Coaching centres emphasize on an exam-centric approach focusing on memorisation above true understanding.

Furthermore, early exposure to coaching centres may hinder the true development of the child including social abilities and other essential life skills.

In contrast, schools provide an environment which nurtures all-round development.

Apart from diverse subjects, schools offer extra-curricular activities, social interactions, creativity, critical thinking etc which contribute to a balanced education.

Schools play a pivotal role as the learning blocks of a student in his/ her early childhood. Coaching centres also play an important role in preparing the child for a better future but should be joined only after a certain age.

Overall, this new rule helps create a safe and healthy competition among students rather than one leading to emotional distress.

It is also a must for students to excel in other aspects of life focusing on overall development.

This requires young students to participate in various diverse fields and cherish moments of their early childhood.

In the end, it is important to remember that young students, the future of our nation must be taught how to think, not what to think.

Osheen Maleri, Class VIII, Carmel Convent

School, Chandigarh