Finally, I said that I couldn’t see how anyone could he educated by this self-propagating system in which people pass exams, and teach others to pass exams, but nobody knows anything.
Feynman criticises an educational system in which success becomes defined mainly by passing examinations rather than by developing genuine understanding. In the system he describes, students learn what is required to succeed in tests and later teach others to do the same, allowing the process to continue without necessarily producing deeper knowledge.
The phrase “self-propagating system” highlights how educational practices can reproduce themselves even when their original purpose has been weakened. Feynman’s concern is not with examinations themselves, but with the risk that assessment can become an end in itself. When teaching is organised primarily around test performance, students may become skilled at recalling expected answers without being able to explain, apply or question what they have learned. The quotation therefore raises a broader issue about education: whether institutions measure genuine understanding or simply reward familiarity with established procedures.