I am from India, and I have a similar experience with my education — one that forces you to memorize, never experiment, and never connect the dots. It felt like reading about my own past and realizing just how bad it was.
Sadly, now the UK is becoming more like that. Schools are judged by league tables based on exam and test results. My daughter's sixth form college (school for 16 to 18 year olds) has deteriorated quite a bit since her older sister went there five years ago and its pretty clear to me that is the cause. A lot of other schools seem to be the same or worse.