Why does the Education System need a massive change?

Firstly, I'm generalizing here. What I'm referring to doesn't constitute the entirety of the Institutions.
I haven't gone on to research into most of the developed countries, but of the goings on here, I happen to know a little bit.

• Problem -1 

The emphasis is primarily on strictly school/college oriented academics. For eg, a kid is considered smart only if he gets 90% in Math, Science, or whatever. This may be true. Yes, he is intelligent. But is this enough?
This narrow-minded school of thought not only brings about a false sense of accomplishment in the children, but also destroys the confidence of those who are smart and capable, without necessarily being inclined to the subject matter.
School is supposed to prepare us for the future, and the many challenges presented to us by this big bad world.

• Problem -2

HOW IS BEING *JUST NERDY* going to help you in any way? To succeed, your EQ ought to be rather high(along with your IQ, of course).

The question- How do you develop that parameter?
The answer- Activities.
Things that involve you working with other people- as teams and groups. These kinda things train you to be a leader, being good with your colleagues and peers.

Trust me, all of us have these abilities(latent) in us. They just need to be honed. And this won't happen by hiding in the book-shell.
Extra Cirriculars are an absolute necessity. Be it anything. Debating, Quizzing, etc. It could be a sport of your choice, too.
They are not only fun, but they bring in us that competitive spirit, which is a must in our everyday life- that mentality.
And in our formative years, Extra Cirricular Activities help us explore ourselves, and what we can be good at, maybe even at a professional level.
For example, you take part in a debate for the first time. And strangely, you happen to be good at it.
Then the possibility of pursuing law later on crosses your mind.
So this is how you broaden your avenues.

In a professional atmosphere, it's efficiency, coupled with creativity, that drives you to success. So again, doing something that requires thinking laterally becomes important.

• Problem-3

In a country like India, a prominent factor contributing to the one-dimensional development of the mind of the average child is the system itself.
There's a stark contrast between the system in the West, and here.
A lot of importance is attached to the creative aspect out there. Creativity, and a problem solving approach, which you tend to use later on. It's more practical, basically.
Most universities consider your achievements in competitions, the out of the box things you've done, and maybe things like Social Work, as a criterion for application. This almost compels people to be good at something. Your CV looks impressive when it contains a few of the things mentioned above.

NOW
Consider the situation here. It's just plain academics!
Does a kid want to do anything else, if given the choice?
He'd be better served reproducing his text book in a word to word fashion.
Why, you ask? Because that's the best way to succeed, or what their interpretation of succeed is.
So you'll have just a mere 5% developing their all round personality.

A lot of it is modeled on the British style of education, unsurprisingly, maybe a hundred years ago.
But when they've managed to change things, why haven't we?

For us to do well later on, we have to develop those skills now. I say "Develop", because we're not born complete.


"Don't let your schooling get in the way of your education."

The above statement by Mark Twain is perhaps the one line conveying the essence of what I intended to say.

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