Every year, millions of young Indians walk into classrooms believing they are building the foundation of a successful life. Their mark sheets proudly display distinctions, percentages, and perfect scores. Relatives offer congratulations, teachers feel reassured, and parents believe the foundation for a secure future has been laid.

Yet behind these celebrations lies a quiet and persistent discomfort: we have built an education system where memorisation looks like learning, and where marks often mask, rather than measure, a student’s understanding.

The uncomfortable truth is this. A nation that produces so many toppers should not simultaneously struggle with an acute shortage of job-ready talent.

A paradox in the labour market

India’s labour market today reflects a contradiction that is

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