One of the main root causes, undoubtedly, is the structure and mindset surrounding our education system. For far too long, Indian society has been conditioned to measure a child’s capability through marks rather than potential. Our education system often rewards a student for how accurately they can reproduce lessons on a sheet of paper, rather than how effectively they can understand, apply, question, create, and solve problems in real life. When grades become the destination instead of learning being the journey, education stops developing minds and starts producing mark sheets.

This obsession with academic performance has created an environment where students are pushed to study for marks rather than knowledge. At the same time, the countless passions, talents, interests, and ambitions that exist beyond academics are frequently treated as secondary—or even as distractions. Students are repeatedly made to believe that academic success is the only reliable path to a successful future, while talents in sports, arts, technology, entrepreneurship, creativity, and countless other fields are overlooked. How many capable minds are we allowing to remain unexplored simply because they did not fit into an examination paper?

The consequences of this pressure cannot be ignored. Students who are judged or discriminated against because of poor academic performance can face severe emotional and psychological pressure. In 2019 alone, we lost more than 10,335 student lives to suicide in India. According to the latest data cited here, that figure has increased by approximately 40% to 14,488, with many such cases occurring around the period of board and public examination results. It is equally alarming that surveys indicate that at least 4 out of every 10 students in India experience clinical depression.

These figures should not merely be statistics written in a report—they should be a wake-up call.

So we must ask ourselves: Are we educating our children to build their futures, or are we conditioning them to fear failure? How many more talents must remain undiscovered, and how many more students must suffer under unbearable academic pressure, before we accept that grades alone cannot define a child’s worth or potential?

It is high time we demand change. We must build an education system that evaluates understanding, creativity, practical ability, and individual talent alongside academic performance. A child should not have to sacrifice their passion to prove their intelligence. Education must empower students to discover what they are capable of—not force them into a single definition of success.

Let us stop asking children how many marks they scored, and start asking what they can create, solve, achieve, and contribute.