FAQ

Interview

Topic: Student evaluation and competitive exams

Note: Questions are in bold, answers are in regular fonts. The interview is imaginary!

• The Xchool project is about providing a platform for student evaluation and creating student profiles. You are also suggesting an alternative to the current competitive exam system. You are saying that this could have a significant and beneficial effect on high school education in India.

Why would people accept it, and how do you get the message across?

I am not saying anything new. Many prominent people have openly spoken about the problems facing the Indian education system, blaming the coaching centers and competitive exams along with educational institutions. This is all over mainstream news. In fact, I don't know any sensible person who would say that wasting students' time and energy—specializing in 12th-grade problem solving, forcing them to learn things they will later forget—is of any use at all. This approach is detrimental to their educational experience, and society is suffering as a whole.

• Yes. I have also heard Sabeer Bhatia recently talk about the lack of "critical thinking" among Indian students and professionals. So, what exactly is critical thinking?

I prefer the term "creative thinking." Students need to learn how to solve real-world problems, not just work through textbook exercises. Learning to "think" takes time and effort. Writing plays a crucial role in the process of thinking—complex ideas, like complex calculations, can't be processed purely mentally; they require pen and paper. You need to spend days understanding and breaking down problems, making mistakes and learning from them. It is different from attending 5 classes and doing their homework every day.

• What are some real-world problems that students could think about?

We are discussing a real-world problem right now concerning Indian education. Some kids are thinking about going to Mars, but we have far more urgent problems. We would all want to live in a clean and beautiful environment. However, our cities are unsafe and unhealthy slums. We see horrific images of people hanging from moving trains. How do you solve these problems?

• But how can students solve such problems when adults can't?

Such real-world problems can't be solved in one or two steps or by one lone person. Solutions would involve economics, technology, political, social and many other factors. My point is that if you think about going to Mars, you may develop an interest in engines. Even if you don't become a space engineer, you might end up improving a car engine. We need people to think about practical things, instead of solving book exercises. Books can't teach you how to fix India's problems—if they did, you wouldn't have problems.

• So, why are people blaming coaching centers and entrance exams for lack of critical or creative thinking among students?

In India, the process of memorizing information and taking exams starts at an early age and continues through undergraduate education and beyond. It prevents students from exploring their interests and developing creative thinking skills, instead forcing them to memorize vast amounts of superficial information and focus on exam-taking strategies. Coaching centers worsen the situation by intensifying competition for college admission. Students essentially have no choice but to attend these centers if they hope to enter a reputable college.

• Aren’t intelligence and subject skills tested in entrance exams important in higher education and later career?

Well, intelligence can be measured easily with an IQ test. A reasonable knowledge of high school material is useful for higher learning. There is no need to specialize in solving 12th-grade problems. Similarly, one could also specialize in solving undergraduate-level problems and spend a lifetime doing it. But real-world problems are of a different nature and need deep, creative thinking, innovation, and entrepreneurship. If they were as easy as solving book problems, people would have solved them already.

• If competitive entrance exams are a problem, on what basis can colleges select students?

Ideally, if students demonstrate special ability or interest in a particular field, they should be admitted to college on that basis. Of course, there are prerequisites, and students should demonstrate good knowledge of the basics. But the spirit of innovation, entrepreneurship, and creative thinking is more important. Necessary skills can be acquired later as and when the need arises. That's more efficient than acquiring skills first and hoping they will be useful in the future.

• But, how can young high school students demonstrate special abilitity?

Thanks to the Internet and AI, students can now take undergraduate courses in subjects they're interested in and collaborate on original work. Such opportunities would have been far more difficult to access 30 years ago. They need to be guided properly by teachers, as I have discussed on my website.

• How do you compare two such students? How can you rank them like in a competitive exam?

Good question. We will create student profiles that can be easily analyzed and processed. The fit between a student and undergraduate program should ultimately be determined through interviews. Current competitive exams cannot effectively judge a student's skill and motivation; they serve only as elimination mechanisms. Consider the IIT JEE, which has only a 1% success rate. A vast number of students prepare for, take this exam, and pray—hoping they might pass on a good day. In contrast, our system would evaluate students over a long period, making it much more fair and reliable.

• But, if there is so much competition to enter IITs, don’t they inevitably have to make their entrance exams very hard?

That's right. Most students lack specific goals and instead focus on maximizing exam scores to access the best opportunities. After graduation, they tend to pursue managerial positions, which offers little chance for hands-on creative work. This trend concerns many people as it leads to a shortage of innovation in our society. The situation has now reached crisis levels—even job placements from IITs have become unstable. With AI and advanced robotics on the horizon, these challenges may only intensify.

• Can IITs reform their education system to foster creative thinking in students?

They could let students do more projects and less coursework, for example. However, their internal model is also based on competition and ranking. If students pursue individual projects, ranking them fairly becomes challenging. To maintain fairness and transparency, they must follow standardized criteria. It's much simpler to administer difficult exams and rank students by scores. Additionally, they might lack the world-class facilities needed for advanced research. So, the best they can do is make students world-class in solving book problems. However, such bookish skills may have limited value in the real world.

• Can you convince students to seek alternative routes instead of pursuing current entrance exams and going to IITs, for example?

People often don’t have a choice, financially speaking. IITs offer government-subsidized education and its degrees were valued for guaranteeing high-paying jobs. However, this has led to perverse competition, people spend a lot of money on coaching and recently there has been uncertainties with job placements. So, people really have to think hard.

• How is the situaiton different for private or foreign universities?

For private or foreign universities, if a student is paying for education, they have to make a conscious choice based on their interests and the market value of the degree. If the student has learned the pre-requisites for a particular program, the college should have no problem admitting them. So, for example, a student who wants to pursue computer science, need not score very high in chemistry.

• Why can't CBSE or other board exam scores be used for IIT admissions, together with special achievments?

Board exams lack sufficient differentiation among students—approximately 10% of students score 90% or higher in CBSE 12th grade, largely due to coaching centers teaching exam techniques. IITs cannot judge students based on special achievements because their mission is to give equal opportunity to a wide section of the population. They have reservations for marginalized groups for the same reason.

• How’s the Xchool evaluation system different from board and competitive exams?

Xchool offers a chapter-by-chapter evaluation system that allows students to learn from their mistakes and achieve desired proficiency levels. It provides a detailed performance record that can be visualized in various ways. For instance, a student might be able to answer board-level questions on a topic, solve 30% of IIT JEE questions independently, and solve another 50% with guidance. While this may not guarantee IIT admission, it demonstrates a solid grasp of the subject matter.

• But, what if students still choose education based on prestige rather than their actual interests and capabilities?

That is their personal choice and a societal problem, but people should realize that the job market is quite volatile. The corporate culture requires motivation, special abilities, and character more than exam scores. With the advent of AI and other changes in the economy, people adept at using available resources will get ahead of those who want to take exams—hoping employers will pick them because of their bookish intelligence.

• So, what would be an ideal way to choose a career according to you, particularly in the tech sector?

I suppose, after 10th grade, one has to figure out a broad career path. Then one should spend a couple of years thinking deeper into the subject. If one can afford private education at a decent college, then they have the option of attending college focusing on their interests instead of seeking high exam scores. Instead of spending money on coaching, one can invest in their interests or pursue entrepreneurship—like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

• How do you think employers would react to your education model?

Great question. Employers complain about the lack of creative thinking and motivation among Indian graduates. I'm suggesting a solution—people can modify and improve. If employers continue hiring based primarily on exam scores, they're perpetuating the very problem they complain about. I hope they'll recognize the logic in this argument.

• I hope they do too. I think your ideas could really change how we look at education in India. We have run out of time today. I hope we can talk again and discuss how things progress. Thank you for talking to us.

My pleasure. Thank you for the interview.