Pune:
Ali Aamir finds himself at the crossroads.
He has scored just over 61 per cent in the Higher Secondary Exam and is waiting to get admission in Pune's Wadia College where the cut-off is 75 per cent.
"My daddy says that during the time he was a student getting 60 per cent marks was considered very good; if only I had born in that era," said Ali Aamir Lokhandwala.
Not just those who have 60 or 70 per cent, even those with 75 per cent are facing problems.
"I know that 60 per cent in today's competitive world leads you nowhere," admitted Ali Amir.
A feeling shared by many others like him, who have got first divisions at a time when cut-offs are going through the roof especially in Delhi where in one college it's 100 per cent.
Students say that's absurd.
"It's like you are trying to make us machines and we are children. We make errors. How do you expect us to get 100% result?" reasoned a student.
''If you are getting 100 per cent, you should be encyclopaedia or super machine," said another.
"I can't even imagine coming close to this 100 per cent, so this is utter nonsense," complained another.
The growing cut-throat competition is causing concern among educationists too.
"It should be a one off case. This should not be a trend, we cannot judge students by just marks. It's very sad. There are other ways too to judge a student," said Vidya Yerawdekar, Director, Symbiosis University.
With just 60 per cent and no takers for them, what is the way forward for such students.