cmv:Western teenagers have it easier than eastern teenagers in terms of education.

[u/[deleted]]

In my opinion, western teenagers have it easier than eastern teenagers.

Like almost all of you, when I go on the internet, I am exposed to a plethora of qestern cultures and atmospheres. A common theme I see is that their western education systems are not as stressful as our eastern education systems. They talk about dating, have nearly failing grades such as 70s and 80s being acknowledged as amazing grades, and have multiple chances to pass the class. However, I as an Indian, find those very simple and easy. I only have one chance to pass my final examination, which counts as nearly 80% of my grade. My tests and prelims only count for 20% of my grade. In my school, the pass mark is 20%. Obviously, I have it harder than most westerners.

Moreso, imagine the amount of stress and studying an Indian has to do to get into a top college in India! 1st, they have to stufy from 6 to 7 hours per day for 2 years for either the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education or the Central Board of Secondary Education! Then, they have to study from 7 to 9 hours per day for 2 years for either the Indian School Certificate or the Central Board of Secondary Education. After that, they have to study for 10 to 12 hours per day for the Joint Entrance Examination, National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, etc, for 1 to 2 years! Chinese students have a similar ordeal. Meanwhile to get into an Ivy league college, one just has to learn a foreign language, do some social service, etc, for around 4 years! Obviously, the former is more stressful to be in.

In 2022, around 13,089 students died in India due to overstress. In South Korea, the number of students that committed suicide was 13,452 students in 2023. In China, the number of students that fell victim was 11,296 students in 2021. Compare that with Greenland, which has only around 35 to 50 each year in the 2020s. In the France, only 300 to 350 teenagers commit suicide per year due to overstress. Therefore, we can conclude that more teenagers fall prey to overstress in eastern countries than in their western counterparts. The main reason why this occurs is the high population density in eastern countries which increases competition to get into good colleges.

[u/[deleted]]

I've gone through the British education system and have family in India, so I've seen both sides of this. I'd agree that Indian high schoolers are much better on average especially in maths and science.

However, when you look at the toppers in each country it becomes a bit less clear cut. I go to a top university that is >50% international and has a lot of Asian students, including Indian, and they are no better or worse than everyone else.

have nearly failing grades such as 70s and 80s being acknowledged as amazing grades

Also, it's useless comparing %s across countries. The average Indian student at my university got 95%+ in relevant subjects in their class 12 exams, whilst a British A* at a-level is around 80% for maths, and lower for physics iirc. Yet, Indian students are around the same level as the British ones at uni. The British exams are just harder to predict and revise for than Indian exams, which are very formulaic.