Nara Shikaku was an intelligent man who was rarely taken by surprise, having devised and decided multiple scenarios in his minds and their approximate probability, most of the time he knew what to expect. But he was definitely surprised that morning, to see the Niidaime in the waiting room of his office.

"Hokage-sama. Please come in. I,.... You could have summoned me." He stumbled in his words. Another rare occurrence.

"You do have your own work, Nara-san. I merely wanted some answers. It's no trouble for me to walk a few blocks." The Hokage replied.

"Of course. What can I help you with?" Shikaku asked, gesturing the Hokage to take a seat.

"I've been reading some recent reports and have noticed that two out of three jonin are failing their genin teams, particularly ones with non clan genin. I was hoping that you might be able to help me understand the reason for this?" Niidaime-sama asked, his voice conveying the seriousness of the issue.

"It's not prejudice, if that's what you're thinking. The academy standards have declined a lot over the last few years, especially in peace time. The graduation exams comprises of performing three E rank jutsu. The clans are able to compensate the education of their children, but the others graduates, orphans, civilian born children, are not ready for anything beyond D ranks when they graduate, which are basically chores these days." Shikaku replied.

The Niidaime frowned at that. "I see. And why have the academy standards declined so far?"

Shikaku knew that the Niidaime himself was responsible for the establishment of the academy, and he had to tread carefully. "The civilian council has gained quite a bit of sway since the Kyuubi attack. They pushed for lowering graduation requirements since civilian born children found it difficult to clear the exam."

"I would prefer that you'd be frank with me, Nara-san." The Niidaime said, sending him a 'look'. "I would like to hear about your opinion on the academy model."

"Very well, Hokage-sama. I don't think the academy model works. You'd have seen it if you'd remained in power following the years it was established, especially since the civilian population grew." Shikaku began, calmly, taking a breath. "The students which are enrolled in the academy are a diverse group. They all have different upbringing, chakra capacity, blood limit, literacy, intelligence... I don't think lumping them together for a few years teaching them thr basis of shinobi arts and then putting them on a team of three with a jonin, to do missions, is the best way to teach our future shinobi."

Tbe Hokage contemplated that for a second before replying, "Do you have an alternative."

"Dozens. Though the best one would be assigning teams early at the start and assigning them chunnin teachers instead of jonin, and have them perform D ranks as academy students." Shikaku said, assuming his 'thinking pose'. "Promotion to genin should be handed out after survival and combat evaluation."

"That is a good plan." The Hokage agreed. "A bit ambitious, though. I hope it wouldn't disrupt your routine too much to get it in motion before the next academic year." He said, getting up.

Shikaku stared in silence as the Hokage left his office.

"Troublesome." He muttered, finally.