Brain Drain - Unveiling the Reality 🤯

A recent news headline of TOI read, "Both NEET & JEE-Advanced Examinations, which channel admission into India's medical colleges and IITs respectively, have recorded low cutoff scores." What does this indicate? This means that a general category candidate with just 55 marks out of 360 is eligible for an IIT seat this year, even as the cutoff score to qualify for admission to a medical college corresponds to the 50th percentile for the open category.
And guess what, out of no surprise, this low cut-off score has helped 9.9 lakh to qualify for 92,000 medical seats and 40,712 for 16,000 IIT seats - but not without raising questions about the quality of the candidates. Well, you might presume that this move by the education sector is excellent as many students get into prestigious colleges more than ever before. But there is a catch, even low-meritorious students get in line with the deserving students, and everyone knows what will happen next! It allows wealthy candidates with low merit to buy their way to a payment seat while the excellent students become helpless.
India needs to fix the problem of "Reservation". To progress towards the development path, we must focus on deserving candidates rather than students getting admitted through reservation. Well, many may complain, but this is how it will work. Due to this loophole, the concept of "Brain Drain" gets into the picture. Coming back to the story, as the meritorious students get stuck and can't opt for an accessible seat at prestigious govt institutes, they usually figure a way out by travelling abroad for overseas education.
As far as I understand, some of my friends went to China & Eastern Europe to pursue MBBS as the tuition fee is comparatively cheaper than the private Indian institutions. Some went to the UK to pursue management, and the rest went to the US for MS (mostly computer science). And sadly, only a handful of my friends in India are prepping hard for UPSC and other govt exams.
See, I am not complaining about the education system as we have prestigious institutes like IITs and IIMs globally recognised as the best institutes. But the problem with these institutes is that the acceptance rate is too low, which is challenging for other students who fall under the deserving students. In my case, I would only get a call from the top IIMs if I score a 99 percentile in CAT (General Category).and almost 65% is reserved for other categories. How ridiculous is that!
As the path turns narrower, the concept of Brain Drain increases. Oh, I am sorry, as I didn't specifically explain the meaning of Brain Drain. It simply means that the country's brightest minds are leaving abroad for a better life, eventually benefitting the host country. Sundar Pichai (CEO of Google) & Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft) are the best examples.
No wonder the best companies in the world have their CEOs of Indian origin. Recent news claimed that Starbucks appointed a new CEO who is an Indian. What does this indicate? Well, it simply means Indians got better brains nah! But the better brains are still under them founders who are gaining the most out of us Indians. Though the CEOs are well-paid, you can also be fired right,
Well, I think it's better not to elaborate much about the concept as we head towards the way out for a better India. It is not like the government has recognised Brain Drain, in fact, they are way ahead in this thinking how can we fix this? The Govt started encouraging local entrepreneurs and innovators, set up incubation centres for startups and many more.
And let me tell you, even we got to change our mindsets first. We must change of thinking from a JOB-SEEKER to a JOB-PROVIDER. Our conventional and colonial mindset is limiting ourselves to showcase our talent to the world. I always wondered why I couldn't find Indian clothing brands abroad! We must encourage our talent and stop exploiting it in the name of reservation and corruption. You know what I am saying, right?
Remember, we are born in a land where the legends like Srinivasa Ramanujan, APJ Abdul Kalam, Swami Vivekananda, Aryabhata, and CV Raman were born and left a legacy ahead. Looking for the times ahead :)
Article by Krishna Teja Reddy and Picture sourced from Unsplash
Hold on, If you loved reading this blog, then simply share this blog with a couple of your friends and loved ones who you think need to understand this. It might definitely help. Until then, this is Krishna signing off :)

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