Indian Schools Teach You to Be Poor: Why Obedience Over Innovation is Failing Our Students

Why Obedience Over Innovation is Failing Our Students

When Team PNCDNC told schools that they needed to adopt a unique approach, many principals were not aligned. They believed what they were already doing was right and dismissed our suggestion. But now, what we warned about has come true.

But that is exactly the problem. Too many in education live in a comfortable bubble, blind to how their system is failing the very students they claim to serve.

The truth is stark: our schools train the middle class to obey, not build. They reward students who follow instructions, memorize rules, and color inside the lines—producing generations of rule-followers, not rule-breakers or creators.

Today’s world does not pay you to obey. It pays you to solve problems. It rewards those who can innovate, adapt, question, and lead.

And this is where our education system is still stuck in the past. Schools boast about using “digital boards” and teaching “computer basics” as if these are signs of progress. But putting a computer in a classroom without changing how teaching happens does nothing. It only turns old methods into shinier versions of conformity.

A teacher lecturing from a digital board is still lecturing. Students still sit in silence, taking notes, repeating answers they hope will please an examiner. Where is the space to think? To question? To design?

The result is an economy full of graduates who know how to follow instructions but not how to start a company, design a product, or solve a tough local problem. It’s why so many remain “job seekers” rather than “job creators.” It’s why middle-class parents chase government jobs for their children—safe, predictable, and risk-averse.

But this model is breaking. Business Today now warns: “Better late than never.” Schools and colleges face tough times ahead if they don’t change. Employers want graduates who can think, communicate, and solve. A degree alone won’t cut it.

We don’t need teachers who know how to use PowerPoint or digital whiteboards if all they do is repeat the same exam-focused syllabus. We need educators who know how to inspire, to facilitate real discussion, to help students learn how to learn.

The time for polite conversations is over. We must confront the uncomfortable truth: our schools are producing obedience, not opportunity.

If we want our children to be truly rich—not just in money but in ideas, skills, and resilience—we need an education system that teaches them to think, to question, to create.

Better late than never. But the clock is ticking.

Business Line: https://shorturl.at/EmS7a