In 2022 a colleague’s child scored 95 % in Class 12, a milestone that secured admission to a prestigious college and prompted family celebration. A friend’s 98 % score brought similar joy, yet the first student fell into an emotionally fragile state that no one could explain. The incident illustrates how a single mark can become a source of intense pressure and unexpected distress.
Indian families and schools often equate success with marks, ranks, and percentiles, treating examinations as the sole measure of achievement. When the paper is finished, however, students face a world full of real‑world challenges—climate change, pandemics, social exclusion, workplace automation, and rising mental‑health crises—that demand skills beyond rote knowledge.
The World Health Organization defines life skills as “abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life.” Its framework includes decision‑making, problem‑solving, critical and creative thinking, communication, empathy, and stress management. For higher education institutions, nurturing these skills is now essential.
A recent theatre‑driven workshop at NEF College, Saukuchi, Guwahati, exemplified this pedagogical shift. Moving away from lectures, students worked in teams to brainstorm, perform, and devise solutions to field problems. One participant, Dolly, recounted an internship in a rural community where a domestic‑violence case threatened to derail a workshop. The social‑worker team’s calm, coordinated response impressed the students, showing that listening, observation, empathy, and resilience cannot be taught only from books.
The broader lesson for educators is to ask students who they will become rather than how many marks they have earned. By embedding experiential learning—such as theatre and community work—into the curriculum, schools can produce life‑ready citizens equipped to navigate the complexities of the modern world.
