Srinagar, May 23 -- A young woman from Pulwama scored 89.7% in her postgraduate degree. She had published two papers, volunteered in her village during floods, and helped tutor neighbourhood children during COVID. But when it came time to apply for a PhD program outside Kashmir, she didn't even make it past the shortlisting. Someone else had 89.8%.

That 0.1% difference erased everything else she brought to the table.

It's a story I hear often. Not just from students, but from early-career researchers, job aspirants, even teachers trying for transfers or fellowships.

In Kashmir, you can be full of promise but still fall short, by just a decimal.

Our systems treat marks as the final word. If you're on the wrong side of a cut-off, it doe...