The Pressure to Crack JEE/NEET Is Ruining Childhood – Here’s the Proof
- Neha Kumari
- Jul 22
- 4 min read
JEE and NEET are a weirdly powerful word in India. They are not merely doctoring entrance exams but they are life-changing gateways of teenagers and families of millions of teenagers.
Whether it is Kota to Kalyani, coaching centre to WhatsApp groups, these exams control not only study-time but also childhood as a whole.
Is this pressure worth? Or are we slowly killing an entire generation under the pressure of marks and ranks?
Lets analyze it.
The Numbers Game: More Candidates Less Seats
The NEET exam was attempted by more than 21 lakh students in 2024, and more than 14 lakh students, in JEE (Main). Yet the question is how many can qualify to join top-tier institutes?
In case of NEET, the MBBS seats are only about 1 lakh including the private colleges.
In the case of JEE, IITs have less than 17,000 seats.
It implies that fewer than 5 percent of the students get into their dream college. The rest? But a lot of them are just left with the feeling of failure, worry and misunderstandings.
Coaching or Childhood?
Now, we can discuss the so-called usual day of JEE/NEET aspirant:
5 AM: Get up, practice yesterday exam
7 AM 5 PM: Coaching classes, travelling, school (in case they go to school)
6.00 pm 11.00 pm: Homework, assignments, another revision time
When do we have time to play, rest, find out or even be a kid?
Preparation has even become a full time work with the introduction of coaching centres such as Kota and Hyderabad. Lakhs are spent by parents, and teenage years of students are sacrificed to pursue the single digit rank, and many a times with isolation.
The Mental Health Cost
Now this is where it turns a darker shade of gray.
Over the past few years, student suicides in Kota have already been on an increase. Reportedly:
The number of students suicide deaths in Kota had reached a decade-high, 30, in the year 2023.
The majority of them were related to academic pressure, fear of failure and severe isolation.
But year in and year out we normalize that.
Phrases like:
It is a matter of baas do saal (two years)
JEE/NEET is a life changer. It is over once you crack the exam.
What About Parents?
Trashing parents is just the simple answer but the problem is rooted elsewhere.
A lot of parents feel that forcing their child to such disciplines would ensure them of a secure future life. Be a doctor or an engineer and that is success, a bulwark against cultural values and fear of becoming poor.
Yet the question is:
Is the future with no more miseries good enough to endure the present?
Would anyone prefer a tired doctor or a happy graphic designer?
A Sad or a Contented IITian?
The market is changing But we are still in the same mindsets
The irony of all this is that the number of career choices in India has boomed over the past one decade:
UX designers
Data scientists
Ethical hackers
Content makers, film producers, podcasters
Urban planners, environmentalists, even psychologists-?
However, JEE/NEET is like a way of proving intelligence to the majority of schools and parents.
In actual sense, the world has appreciated skills more than degrees. However, we are yet to be up to date with our coaching factory regime.
The Education System has to be Transformed
The elephant in the room is that we have a school system which does not train people to live - it teaches them to pass the exams.
Though the NEP (National Education Policy is meant to make the learning more wholesome, but the ground reality is not yet changed:
Memorizing > Critical thinking
Mental health [English] Marks [French]
Tekdose Productive Competition Productive Collaboration
What ails us:
Schools with Emotional Wellness Programs
Early stage career counseling
Non-STEM streams value such as humanities and arts
Information regarding the alternative careers
The IITs are not the only way of making it big; neither are AIIMS.
Here are some prime examples which show that you do not have to crack JEE/NEET to be one:
Bhuvan Bam- You Tube star and businessman (no IIT tag, but still millions love him)
Ritesh Agarwal - The founder of OYO- School dropout
Kavya Kopparapu- You young AI researcher, not of IIT, but found place in Forbes 30 Under 30
Success has today been defined by problem-solving, innovation and adaptability and not by marks.
So What is the Answer?
We are not telling that JEE or NEET is bad, it is simply not the only pathway. To some students they are a passion. It is a course taken out of compulsion, intimidation and going along with the crowd as many do it.
This is what we are able to do:
Discuss mental issues in public in coaching and schools
Demystify social media hustle culture media bling
Praise and do not fight the other course of life, creative jobs, skill occupations, entrepreneurship
Promote gap years to stay clear headed and emotionally refreshed.
Last Word
When such a child gets the strength to dream and think beyond JEE and NEET, then we need to celebrate the same, as opposed to closing it down.
Success has nothing to do with bestowing in a test.
It is about trying to be the best person you can ever be- in whatever direction you go.
Sometimes it takes walking away from the rat race and it takes peace over pressure.
📅 By News Anek Digital Desk | July 22, 2025
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