ONE STATISTIC illustrates the frustrations(挫败感) of India’s educated young, so vividly expressed on the streets of Delhi and elsewhere in recent weeks. Research by the Azim Premji University in Bangalore shows that each year between 2004 and 2023 roughly 5m graduates were added to the workforce; but the number in employment rose by only about 2.8m. That was not the issue that drew the crowds. But it helps explain why the one that did—the leaking of a public exam paper for graduates—rouses such passions.(但这有助于解释为什么真正引发抗议的事件——毕业生公共考试试题泄露——会激起如此强烈的情绪。) The youngsters wanted the country’s education minister to resign. After weeks of resistance, on July 25th Narendra Modi, the prime minister, caved in(让步，屈服) and the minister quit.
一个统计数据揭示了印度受过教育的年轻人的挫败感，这种情绪在最近几周德里和其他地方的街头得到了生动表达。班加罗尔阿齐姆·普雷姆吉大学的研究表明，2004年至2023年间，每年约有500万毕业生进入劳动力市场，但就业人数仅增加约280万。这并非引发抗议的直接原因，但它有助于解释为什么真正引发抗议的事件——毕业生公共考试试题泄露——会激起如此强烈的情绪。年轻人要求国家教育部长辞职。经过数周抵制，总理纳伦德拉·莫迪于7月25日让步，教育部长辞职。
Millions of young Indians spend years slogging away(埋头苦干，坚持不懈) at tests, in which the odds(几率，可能性) of success are barely improving. Last year 2.2m students sat(参加（考试）) the one for medical schools, chasing(追逐，争取) just 126,600 places. Another exam, for low-level government positions, drew(吸引) some 2.8m applicants for about 15,000 posts. The leaks of important exams are affecting more and more young people. Since 2016 there have been at least 80, involving more than 20m students, estimates Sujay Nadkarni, a data analyst. The government has announced—not for the first time—moves to clean up(整顿，清理) the exam system.
数百万印度年轻人年复一年地埋头苦读备考，而成功的几率几乎没有提高。去年，220万学生参加了医学院入学考试，争夺仅12.66万个名额。另一场低级政府职位考试吸引了约280万申请者，而岗位只有约1.5万个。重要考试泄题事件正影响越来越多的年轻人。数据分析师苏贾伊·纳德卡尼估计，自2016年以来，至少发生了80起泄题事件，涉及超过2000万学生。政府已宣布——这并非首次——要采取措施整顿考试制度。
Even more than the leaks, it is exams’ growing and enduring importance that should worry policymakers.(比泄题更值得政策制定者担忧的是，考试日益增长且持续的重要性。) Young Indians persist in(坚持，执着) trying to win in this rickety(摇摇欲坠的，不稳固的) system because the alternative—finding a job in the market—is even harder. Of the young people who report themselves unemployed, fewer than 7% of graduates find permanent(永久的，固定的) salaried work within a year.
比泄题更值得政策制定者担忧的是，考试日益增长且持续的重要性。印度年轻人坚持在这个摇摇欲坠的体系中努力取胜，因为另一种选择——在市场上找工作——更加困难。在自称失业的年轻人中，不到7%的毕业生能在一年内找到有薪的固定工作。
