What the Indian Education System Is Designed For? | charotarnoavaj | Yagnesh Suthar [2026]

What the Indian Education System Is Designed For?

A. Official Objectives (Government / Policy Level):

Facts:
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the guiding framework for India’s education system, lists objectives such as:

1. Foundational literacy and numeracy

2. Critical thinking and inquiry-based learning

3. Holistic, multidisciplinary education

4. Equity, inclusion, and access

5. Skill development for employability

6. 21st-century skills (creativity, problem-solving)

These are goals on paper, not always reality in practice.

Reasoning
Policies aim to solve economic and developmental issues — not necessarily human flourishing or inner well-being.

B. Curriculum Structure & Assessment:

Facts:

• Syllabi are heavily exam-oriented and prioritize memorization.

• Subjects are compartmentalized (Sciences, Math, Languages, Social Studies).

• High competition for limited seats (engineering/medicine) → coaching industries flourish.

• Success is largely measured by marks, ranks, entrance results.

These patterns have been documented in multiple education surveys and academic critiques of the Indian system.

Reasoning
When external rewards (jobs, status) dominate the system, internal motivation (learning for itself) weakens.

Let's understand:

Behavioral Outputs: What It Produces in Individuals & Society:

A. Quantifiable Behavioral Trends:

Facts:

• High stress and anxiety among students.

• Large coaching/tutoring ecosystem.

• Focus on credentials over competence.

• Reward hierarchy based on marks, ranks, degrees, not character.

Studies in Indian education psychology show these trends.

Reasoning
When systems reward scores and outcomes, not curiosity or ethical practice, human behavior shifts toward optimizing for the rewarded metrics.

B. Implicit Behavioral Signals the System Teaches:

These are not declared goals, but they become incentives embedded in experience:

1. Competition over collaboration

2. Achievement over understanding

3. Outcome over process

4. Fear of failure over exploration

5. External validation over internal growth

6. Social comparison over self-reference

These themes emerge repeatedly in ethnographic and psychological analyses of schooling.

Reasoning
Systems with ranking, comparison, and scarcity of rewards shape behavior differently from systems that encourage mastery and cooperation.

How These Patterns Relate to the “Seven Enemies of Humanity”?

1) Kaam (Excessive Desire / Lust for Reward)

Manifestation in Education:

• Desire for grades, recognition, prestige.

• Wanting high salaries, top colleges, not knowledge itself.

Frame of Reinforcement:
Incentives are external rewards (marks, admissions) rather than intrinsic rewards (joy of learning).

Conclusion:
The system amplifies desire for external gain, not self-regulated fulfillment.

2) Krodh (Anger / Frustration)

Manifestation:

• Anger at poor marks, failures, comparison.

• Frustration when learning is reduced to memorization.

Reasoning:
Pressure + competition frequently triggers stress responses.

Conclusion:
By emphasizing results and competition, the system heightens frustration and reactive behavior.

3) Lobh (Greed / Over-Accumulation)

Manifestation:

• Hoarding resources (notes, secrets).

• Obsession with certificates, multiple degrees, accumulating credentials.

Reasoning:
What is rewarded is what is pursued. If certificates = success, people chase certificates.

Conclusion:
The system fosters accumulation behavior, not healthy restraint.

4) Moh (Attachment / Clinging)

Manifestation:

• Attachment to identity based on marks and degrees.

• Emotional dependence on approval from others.

Reasoning:
Self-worth tied to external validation → deeper attachment to outcomes.

Conclusion:
It reinforces identity attachment to labels and achievements.

5) Haṭha (Force / Compulsion)

Manifestation:

• Rigid schedules, rote learning.

• Pressure from parents, coaching institutes.

Reasoning:
Less freedom to choose one’s path → forced compliance.

Conclusion:
The system exhibits structural coercion, indirectly promoting forceful habits.

6) Maan (Ego / Arrogance)

Manifestation:

• Ranking breeds superiority/inferiority.

• Graduating from a “top tier” institution = higher social status.

Reasoning:
External ranking systems create egocentric comparisons.

Conclusion:
It cultivates ego attachment to status and prestige.

7) Irshya (Envy / Jealousy)

Manifestation:

• Comparison of marks, colleges.

• Competitive culture fuels jealousy.

Reasoning:
If success is relative, people compare themselves to others — breeding envy.

Conclusion:
The system systematically encourages social comparison, which is linked to envy.

Behavioral Framework: How Teaching Drives These Outputs?

Here is a conceptual flow — mapping

Learning environment → Cognitive schema → Behaviour:

🧠 Input Structures

Curriculum + Assessment

• Heavy emphasis on recall

• Standardized tests

• External rewards

↓ leads to:

🧠 Cognitive Schemas Formed

Students internalize:

• “Competition is survival”

• “Performance > learning”

• “I exist through comparison”

↓ leads to:

🧠 Motivational Drivers

• Fear of failure

• Desire for reward

• Social comparison

• External validation

↓ leads to:

🧠 Behavioral Habits

• Stress responses (anger, frustration)

• Competitive drives (envy, greed)

• Identity attachment (ego, attachment)

• Reinforced desire for status

What the System Does Not Formally Teach?

Absent or weak elements in practice:

• Self-awareness

• Emotional regulation

• Ethics & compassion

• Cooperative problem-solving

• Mindfulness

• Moral cultivation beyond test achievement

These are referenced in policy texts (NEP 2020) but lack systemic implementation.

Interpretation: Is the System Teaching the “Seven Enemies”?

Through incentives and competitive structures, the system reinforces behaviors that align with these enemies.

In other words:

• The system’s design incentives implicitly train minds toward outcomes associated with the seven adversarial tendencies.

• These tendencies arise not because teachers want them, but because the structure rewards behaviors that correlate with them.

Big Picture: Root Cause

Systemic Design Bias:

• Past colonial models

• Industrial-era metrics

• Exam-centric evaluation

• Economic utility focus

These prioritize measurable outputs, not human flourishing.

Long-Term Output:
A generation optimized for:

• credential acquisition

• competition

• external approval

• status seeking

Summary of the impact of education system on our youth:

System Feature (Root Teaching)	Behaviour Learned by Individuals	Dominant Inner Enemy Activated	Resulting Population Behaviour	Impact on Society (Long-Term)
Marks, ranks, exams as success metrics	Compete constantly, compare self with others	Irshya (envy), Maan (ego)	Status-obsessed, insecure, superiority/inferiority mindset	Fragmented society, weak solidarity, class arrogance
Scarcity of seats & opportunities	“Win at any cost” mentality	Lobh (greed)	Hoarding, manipulation, unethical shortcuts	Corruption normalized, trust erosion
External rewards (jobs, salary, prestige)	Chase outcomes, not truth	Kaam (desire)	Endless dissatisfaction, restless ambition	Consumerism, burnout, hollow success
Punishment for failure, fear-based evaluation	Suppress emotions, obey authority	Krodh (anger) (repressed)	Passive compliance → sudden aggression	Social volatility, violence, mental health crises
Rote learning, fixed syllabus	Accept given narratives	Moh (attachment)	Attachment to ideology, degrees, labels	Dogmatism, resistance to reform
Ranking & labeling (topper/average/failure)	Identity = performance	Maan (ego)	Fragile self-worth, validation addiction	Mass anxiety, depression, narcissism
Authoritarian classroom structure	Force compliance, suppress dissent	Haṭha (coercion)	Use power instead of dialogue	Authoritarian politics, bullying cultures
Lack of ethics & self-inquiry training	Situational morality	All seven (unregulated)	Moral flexibility based on convenience	Law without justice, ethics without conscience
Knowledge as commodity (degrees, certificates)	Treat learning as transaction	Lobh + Moh	Instrumental relationships	Education loses wisdom function
No training in self-awareness	No observation of desire/anger	All seven remain unconscious	Reactive, predictable population	Easily manipulated masses

The system trains people to optimize for external rewards under scarcity — and that exact condition activates all seven inner enemies by default.

Net Result: What Kind of Population Is Created?

Psychologically

• High desire, low fulfillment

• High stress, low clarity

• High intelligence, low wisdom

Socially

• Competitive, not cooperative

• Ethical only when convenient

• Emotionally reactive

Politically

• Easily polarized

• Loyal to identity over truth

• Comfortable with authority if rewarded

Civilizationally

• Fast growth

• Shallow depth

• Cyclical corruption