Today’s students have a plethora of problems to deal with. There is a need for schools to understand this and make efficient changes in the way they tackle such problems. We need to understand that peer pressure isn’t always negative. On the positive side peer pressure can provide students with positive examples on how to work hard, be honest and provide a chance to build lasting bonds. On the negative side peer pressure can lead to risky behaviour. Students just want to fit in. Regular workshops must be conducted by the school to help students to develop good self esteem and choose friends wisely. Special counselors must be appointed in schools to help interact with students on a personal level with whom they can freely discuss any problems they may be facing.

Somewhere over the past few decades, the education system has put students in a race against one another as well as themselves. The most worrisome byproduct of this is what it is doing to the quality of learning. Students come to see learning as a chore and tend to think less deeply. Rot learning has become a common norm. Students may fall apart and go into severe depression when they fail. It is important to make education a fun process with the help of interesting activities and discussions. Class participation should be given a lot of importance. Teachers need to develop a good rapport with their students. Everything should be student- centric Students must be given options by setting basic parameters for class collaborations and group discussions. Student feedback must be taken on a regular basis. Self - development refers to self - fulfillment and the need to reach full potential as a human being. A very important requirement in today’s education system is to focus on building ‘soft skills’ for today’s students. Stress management, anger management, improving self esteem and communication skills all need to become part of the current curriculum.

Our education system still needs to make a lot of changes to be at par with international standards. There are few things that we emulate from the western world when it comes to education. Emphasis should be given to research instead of rot learning. Research remains abysmally low in the education system. Our system lacks regular curricular changes which are part and parcel of international educational systems where in a lot of emphasis is placed on development of soft skills. The same must be adopted in our education system as well. We should focus on ‘quality’ over ‘quantity’.

Over the decades there has been a biased opinion about students who take up humanities in higher classes, but that opinion is changing. Earlier a person was only considered successful if they were a doctor, engineer or an MBA. New job opportunities have changed this mind set. Previously students scoring highest marks were recommended to opt for the science stream and vice versa. Today students are more aware of what they want to do and what they are comfortable learning. In order to increase the interests of students pursuing pure sciences they need to be made aware of all the options available to them. Proper career counselors must be appointed by the school for the same. Schools should conduct events like ‘career day’ where prominent personalities from each field must be invited to interact with the students. Success stories of past students who have taken up humanities must be shared with the students. Interaction with alumni too would help students a great deal.