When Education Becomes a Race for Marks: Lessons from a Rural Classroom

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A Month in a Rural Classroom

During a one-month volunteering experience at a rural school, I expected limited resources to be the main challenge. Instead, what stood out was how education had been reduced to a race for marks. Students could recall. textbook information accurately but struggled to explain basic ideas in their own words.For instance, a Class 8 student recited the entire process of photosynthesis perfectly from memory, but froze when I asked her why leaves are green or to explain the process in her own words. Questions that required reasoning were often met with hesitation, not because of a lack of ability, but because the system had trained them to memorize rather than to think.

When Marks Overshadow Learning

This pressure came from teachers and parents too, who viewed marks as the sole measure of progress. In families facing economic hardship, good grades promised security and mobility.One afternoon, a teacher pulled me aside and said in a low voice, “Please don’t ask too many ‘why’ questions. The syllabus is huge, and parents only care about one thing: ‘Kitne marks aaye?’( how many marks did they get?)”

Beyond the Classroom

What concerned me most was not infrastructure, but the narrowing of ambition. Students spoke confidently about exams, yet found it difficult to connect their subjects to real life. While this approach may deliver short term results, it leaves students ill equipped for problem solving and independent thought. These gaps matter beyond the classroom. An education system that rewards repetition over understanding quietly weakens a society’s capacity to adapt, govern, and engage with complex challenges.

What I Learned

My time volunteering did not produce easy solutions, but it clarified the nature of inequality I was witnessing. Access to education alone is not enough if the quality of learning remains constrained. Recognizing this difference shaped my understanding of education as a policy issue, not just a personal achievement.

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-Maryam Anwar , student and volunteer