the problem with most schools today, is that they seem to be concentrating on theory. its an open secret that in many schools, students are freely given full marks in practicals(especially in board practicals), without much analysis into their experiments.
im not saying the students are not working on the experiments at all... but there's a strange sense of feeling among students that the 'internal will see to it'.
at the same time, it's not wrong that the students concentrate on their theory more, as it is nore important anyway... but even there they look more to mug up answers... but it's not their fault. the way the papers are corrected in most places... especially in the state boards, will force even the best thinking students to mug up some lessons, as it is the only surefire way to score high.