SRINAGAR — A few weeks ago, I asked educators: If today’s high school students were asked to prepare a household budget, explain the basics of artificial intelligence, solve a community problem, present ideas confidently, or resolve a team disagreement—how many would feel prepared?

The silence was telling

Not because students lack intelligence, but because these essential life skills are rarely taught. Instead, they spend years preparing for examinations, memorising chapters and chasing marks, while the world changes at unprecedented speed. This is not a criticism of teachers. They work tirelessly, often with limited resources. The real challenge is that the world has changed far faster than our classrooms.For more than a century, education followed a predictable model. Students learned information, reproduced it in examinations and entered professions where that knowledge remained relevant for decades. That model served the Industrial Age well.Today we live in the age of artificial intelligence, automation and rapid technological change. Knowledge is no longer scarce; it is available within seconds on a smartphone. What has become scarce—and valuable—is the ability to think critically, communicate effectively, solve problems, collaborate and continuously adapt.

The question is no longer whether our children are learning enough. It is whether they are learning the right things.A world changing faster than our classroomsThe World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 warns that by 2030, AI and information-processing technologies will transform 86% of businesses, creating 170 million new jobs while displacing 92 million. AI alone is projected to create 11 million jobs while replacing 9 million.Today’s students will likely work in careers that do not yet exist. Artificial Intelligence is already transforming healthcare, banking, education, engineering, journalism, law and manufacturing. Employers no longer ask only about degrees. They ask: Can this person solve problems? Communicate effectively? Learn continuously? Work with AI rather........

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