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>Is being a student so hard in India that failing an exam causes people to commit suicide? Yes because there are limited opportunities. Instead of spending mo

>Is being a student so hard in India that failing an exam causes people to commit suicide? Yes because there are limited opportunities. Instead of spending money in creating more opportunities, government likes to spend money in forcing students to compete against each other for limited opportunities and this creates a dynamic where you neither trust others and are always eager to throw others under the bus including yourself. Surprisingly, the parents of these students cheer these competition inducing practises to prove how their kid is better than other kids. Instead India will benefit from opening centers where anyone can go and learn whatever skill they want to learn. Anyone should be able to learn how to build a bridge then have his skills and knowledge tested when he actually wants to build bridge for other people. But in India first you compete for learning how make bridge, then you compete for job then you compete to stay in job.

b_tterc_p 7y ago
I don’t understand how these ideas can mix. If schools are super competitive and the good economic opportunities go to only the top x%, where x is smallish, then most people do not get x. I can’t see it being suicidally bad if this the most common outcome. What do people do if they don’t succeed?
- gingabriska 7y ago
  >I can’t see it being suicidally bad if this the most common outcome Other opportunities do exist but mostly it means being dependent on your parents (to get more education) and they are not going to be very nice and always going to call you out how you have failed them. Sometimes, you might even have PhD from lowly ranked institution and you don't get job. There are simply so many institutes offering degrees where you pay per semester $5000 (obvious way to find it through loans from family and friends or bank loan) and might end up with a degree getting you either no job or stuck for years in $400 job. If you are well off, you may become part of your Dad's business in which case it's not a big deal or your dad may use his contacts to install you in some company. But if you've no connections, no money and you bid everything on this education, you might be left win nothing at the end. Internal demand is very less in India so even if you try to do something else, like small time manufacturing or owning a shop (it's bloody battle). Often the ones who have actual shops are sort of mafia types who won't bat an eye to burn your shop or murder you outright this comes after you manage to convince anyone about giving you money for bootstrapping (which is also very rare) If you are small time business owner in India, either you've very good connections or you use muscle force to stay in business and demand for whatever you produce or sell might simply not be there. These are my observation as a foreigner in India. Maybe in South India it's different but i am in North India.
  - kranner 7y ago
    > Often the ones who have actual shops are sort of mafia types who won't bat an eye to burn your shop or murder you outright This is a bit of fanciful exaggeration. There are a lot of small shopkeepers in India. There is no reason to believe they've been stabbing and shooting their competition.
    - gingabriska 7y ago
      >There are a lot of small shopkeepers in India. There is no reason to believe they've been stabbing and shooting their competition Have you ever owned a non IT business? I am in India and my friends who have successful shops received death threats many times. One even sold his hotel because his son was getting kidnapped all time.
      - kranner 7y ago
        > One even sold his hotel When I say 'small shopkeepers', I don't mean people who are rich enough to own hotels. I mean mom and pop grocery shops or the neighbourhood tea stall.
        gingabriska 7y ago
        Sure, other small shop owners have to pay bribe to food inspector in North India.
        kranner 7y ago
        Yes, that's true. There's all kinds of extortion by corrupt cops and government officers. But these shopkeepers are by and large not mafiosi who have to muscle out the competition.
        gingabriska 7y ago
        My neighbor is part of Sand Mafia and my last cable guy got his throat sliced by competitor who now owns the whole local cable network.

b_tterc_p 7y ago

I don’t understand how these ideas can mix. If schools are super competitive and the good economic opportunities go to only the top x%, where x is smallish, then most people do not get x. I can’t see it being suicidally bad if this the most common outcome. What do people do if they don’t succeed?

gingabriska 7y ago
>I can’t see it being suicidally bad if this the most common outcome Other opportunities do exist but mostly it means being dependent on your parents (to get more education) and they are not going to be very nice and always going to call you out how you have failed them. Sometimes, you might even have PhD from lowly ranked institution and you don't get job. There are simply so many institutes offering degrees where you pay per semester $5000 (obvious way to find it through loans from family and friends or bank loan) and might end up with a degree getting you either no job or stuck for years in $400 job. If you are well off, you may become part of your Dad's business in which case it's not a big deal or your dad may use his contacts to install you in some company. But if you've no connections, no money and you bid everything on this education, you might be left win nothing at the end. Internal demand is very less in India so even if you try to do something else, like small time manufacturing or owning a shop (it's bloody battle). Often the ones who have actual shops are sort of mafia types who won't bat an eye to burn your shop or murder you outright this comes after you manage to convince anyone about giving you money for bootstrapping (which is also very rare) If you are small time business owner in India, either you've very good connections or you use muscle force to stay in business and demand for whatever you produce or sell might simply not be there. These are my observation as a foreigner in India. Maybe in South India it's different but i am in North India.
- kranner 7y ago
  > Often the ones who have actual shops are sort of mafia types who won't bat an eye to burn your shop or murder you outright This is a bit of fanciful exaggeration. There are a lot of small shopkeepers in India. There is no reason to believe they've been stabbing and shooting their competition.
  - gingabriska 7y ago
    >There are a lot of small shopkeepers in India. There is no reason to believe they've been stabbing and shooting their competition Have you ever owned a non IT business? I am in India and my friends who have successful shops received death threats many times. One even sold his hotel because his son was getting kidnapped all time.
    - kranner 7y ago
      > One even sold his hotel When I say 'small shopkeepers', I don't mean people who are rich enough to own hotels. I mean mom and pop grocery shops or the neighbourhood tea stall.
      - gingabriska 7y ago
        Sure, other small shop owners have to pay bribe to food inspector in North India.
        kranner 7y ago
        Yes, that's true. There's all kinds of extortion by corrupt cops and government officers. But these shopkeepers are by and large not mafiosi who have to muscle out the competition.
        gingabriska 7y ago
        My neighbor is part of Sand Mafia and my last cable guy got his throat sliced by competitor who now owns the whole local cable network.