Srinagar, May 1 -- By Syed Yunis Bukhari

Classrooms across Kashmir and India produce millions of students annually armed with marks, certificates, and rankings.

Schools celebrate toppers, families obsess over percentages, and teachers push students relentlessly toward the next competitive exam.

In the middle of this race for performance and prestige, almost nobody asks the question that matters most: what kind of life does the student actually want to build?

The failure to ask that question is damaging thousands of young people every year.

A student finishes Class 10 and faces immediate pressure to choose a stream. Science receives social prestige, medicine and engineering dominate family talks, commerce comes next, and arts often en...