Perpetual student, valued by degrees

31-yr-old New Zealander Jamie Beaton may provide India the perfect economic model: never leave education. He has amassed 12 advanced degrees, from Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Oxford and assorted other institutions considered sufficient individually to keep Indian parents boasting until retirement. Beaton is still studying. The 'perpetual student' could become the next great Indian aspiration. Coaching centres are super excited. Their present business model contains a flaw: eventually, the customer passes an exam. The Beaton model abolishes this leakage. Clear JEE, proceed to CAT. Finish an MBA, attempt UPSC. Acquire a PhD, prepare for another PhD. By 47, the candidate may still be economically inactive but academically unanswerable. The perpetual student, having spent 25 yrs acquiring expertise in economics, AI, public policy, Sanskrit and supply-chain management, will be splendidly qualified for a 3-mth consultancy contract without medical insurance.

But employment is not where real returns lie. They lie in the marriage market. Here, degree accumulation can become an arms race. 'Boy is IIT-IIM' will sound limp. Matrimonial ads will demand: 'Groom, 34, 6 ft, vegetarian, 7 master's, 2 doctorates, currently pursuing law.' Soon, parents will stop asking, 'Beta/beti, what do you do?' and ask instead, 'What are you currently enrolled in?'