Examinations, Schools, India

"One test can decide a person's whole life," runs a popular Chinese saying. All students, regardless of their intended major or career goals, must take the grueling, examinations in schools and beyond, periodically, month after month, year after year. From early years in school, children are told by their parents and teachers to spend their free time studying for examinations that seem to be always round the corner and finally on reaching Class X they would need to sit for a life determining Board examination, not to mention the future endless examinations while pursuing higher studies. I personally refute this practice and not without reason.

In most Indian schools, with minor variations, examinations are held weekly or monthly, term ending and annual. The student finishes school by crossing two hurdles in the form of the 10 plus board examinations and then Plus 2 ISC examinations. Then they would need to clear the Entrance Examinations for higher studies and then the Degree examinations.

Most of us are quite happy to follow existing systems and are quite resistant to change in mind and practice. Therefore whenever we talk about change in this system of examinations in school, scholars would opine to bring in change while the bureaucracy would dither. Rather than examine students, the old school of thought should reexamine their own thinking and here’s why.

The first important reason against the examination system is that the same promotes studying and not learning. Somehow the students are expected to memorise all sorts of data and information and then complete their answer papers. It’s purely a study and forget methodology.
The system does not encourage practical application oriented learning. Real life requirements are ignored and the students when they grow up lack basic common sense in dealing with myriad real time situations and obstacles. The memory system promotes negative thinking and therefore discourages creativity.

Stress and anxiety is a serious problem that the world is facing today while the examination system is introducing the same harmful traits early in life. Majority of students are bogged down with unhealthy competitive pressures, peer pressures, parental pressures and societal pressures. The school world today is quite unreal when compared to the real grown up working world.

While assessment of any student is necessary, the current examination system hardly does that. It does not help in measuring the student’s aptitude. It does not help in identifying specific strengths and weaknesses and somewhere the individuality of the student is lost.
Knowledge in today’s world is constantly evolving and the current system denies the student to expand his horizons beyond text books. The student is compartmentalized in his mind and therefore true understanding and learning does not take place. The learning system needs to imbibe curiosity rather than submission.

The revolutionary teaching methods followed in developed countries are never implemented in the Indian system because of the stereotyped examination system practiced here. Some may argue that India still produces brilliant students but those are exceptions. The masses are the one we should be concerned about and the current system has miserably failed in this perspective.

The reasons above clearly establish the negativity that is being spread consistently and are running deep. There is no denying that assessment and stress should be part of life but not at the cost of hampering learning and at such basic concept levels. We need to develop creativity, analytical abilities and common sense among students. That is possible when assessments are based on application rather than theory. The semester system and case study methods used in higher management courses would be ideal for school students. Physics clearly defines that pointed pressure is more painful than when its spread. Our education governors should learn from this simple natural fact. Sphere: Related Content