Skip to main content

Many Shades Of Board Exams

After an exhilarating Holi, comes the boring and haunting board exam, the exam for which no amount of preparation gives an impression of sufficiency. Students across the nation get excited as well as depressed. They are ‘excitingly depressed’. Excited to give the final exam of their school life, to enter into a new world, and depressed thinking what society would say if their marks won't be that good. Sharma Ji’s meritorious child is making things worse.

board-exams-the-sunshine

While the level of questions asked in the exams has become easy these days, the quality of students being produced is decreasing, WhatsApp, Social Media and expansion of internet are to blame. The internet and smartphones may help students in their higher studies, but it misfires in case of younger kids. It only serves as a distraction, the biggest of modern times. Earlier, when kids go out to play some sports, it was treated as a distraction from studies. But now, it has been understood clearly that it wasn't seeing the present scenario when children play sports in mobile phones & computers and prefer to remain in the virtual world, the world in which they want to be lost in.

When a child gets in the reach of smartphones, it has wide social implications. Other kids, too, want the same. Smart devices are a full package of entertainment — from music, videos, games, messaging, and what not. Who on Earth would not like to have such package? Parents cannot deny their wish for long. Sooner or later, willingly or unwillingly, they have to fulfil their child's whim of owning a smart device. Some parents provide it with terms and conditions, only to be broken later.

Information is at fingertips, away from just a Google or DuckDuckGo search. That’s why its value has decreased drastically as obtaining it has become a lot easier. The Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is on the rise globally, mainly because of the increasing usage of internet by pre-teenage and teenage groups. With the rapid digitalization and continual advancement in technology in which one-month-old latest gadgets become obsolete.

Deciding Fate With Marks 

The symbol of being an excellent student is to score more than 95%, more than 90% are studious, more than 80% is average, less than 80% is below average, and you fail or somehow survive with less than 40%. The below 40% guys are treated as pests. They're regrets, a shame. Schools wish they should never have admitted those pests. Parents, howsoever scold their kids, at the end of the day, they have to tolerate them. Yes, we give too much importance to marks. This reduces education to rote-learning and mugging up lessons to fetch marks. Independent thinking, creativity is discouraged in the Indian education system.

Meanwhile, coaching centres and private institutes are preparing for their next batch of ‘bakras’ (to be sacrificed goats). The target is to get the more students than the previous year — forced engineering, medical or CA aspirant are still the top products. They do it with help of careful and intelligent marketing. The ones which couldn’t give good results are negotiating with topper students to make a sweet deal covertly. The students for the meagre amount of money sell their years of labour and help coaching centres to get some more bakras. It's not a joke.

Every child is special. The goal of education should be identifying that speciality. It should be done early. The new paths must be explored without fear of failure. We tend to choose the known paths where we found crowds. The more we go with the crowd, more we tend to be depressed later. A wide range of career prospects is the way to avoid depression.

During ‘big’ exams, students need psychological help more than academic help. There are multiple pressures involved, social pressure, peer pressure, the pressure put by Sharma uncle, etc. The psychological help need not be through professionals. Moral support by parents and teachers would suffice. My closing comment would be that, like Holi, the colours of board exams, too, is loaded with fun and excitement. Enjoy it. Live it. Nurture it. It is the moment you’ll cherish later in your life. By the end, you’ll only be left with memories. And try not to be influenced by Sharma family.


*First appeared on amiteshgupta.com titled: 'The Marvels Of Board Exams'

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Indian Society And The Struggle Of Our Sports Fraternity

India, the world’s second-most populous nation, fails to show its dominance in sports. In fact, India's performance remains terrible except in few games. So, what's holding India back when it comes to competing in world sporting events like the Olympics? First, it's the conservative Indian mindset of the Indian society. You might be aware of the saying in India “ Padhoge likhoge banoge Nawab, kheloge kudoge banoge kharab ” which translates to “You can be a king if you study, can be spoilt if you play games.” Social life of a person who took the plunge of making a career in sports in India can be challenging and demotivating. An Indian parents or teachers, being part of the society, don't consider sports as a career. They have the biggest influence in a child's future ambitions. They may scold the child that “playing a sport will get you nowhere in life, but to make a life you need to be good in academics”. In other words, young Indians are discouraged from playing s...

IS SECULARISM FADING AWAY?

First, a disclosure: I am a Hindu and have full faith in Hinduism but to show my faith I don't stoop to blaspheme other religions and troll using foul and filthy language on social media like some sick people who consider themselves as the biggest follower of Hinduism but actually insults it. I boast of Indian secularism and our constitution has a very important place for it as we know there is a huge cultural, linguistic and religious diversity exists in India. Since Independence, we never had a muscular secularism in which minorities have to live in fear. Anyone can practice any religion of his/her choice. But the present scenario in India is somewhat disturbing. Some nominal Hindu groups are making full efforts to make India as a Hindu Nation . Our prime minister does not speak to these issues and stick to his development agenda while opposition parties which call themselves as secular (probably because of vote-banks) demand an answer directly from PM and disrupt the parli...

Forgiveness - Your Way Towards Peace

Forgiveness is a divine power, something that ordinary humans are not entitled to have. And, those who have this quality are more than 'a human'. One, who is free from materialistic desire and, most importantly, the ego, is blessed with such divine power. Whether it is of physical or mental strength, weak cannot forgive others. Forgiveness is always an attribute of strong people. It is a trait of a mature person having deep inner control over his mind. This strength cannot be bought, it has to be earned. But, how would you earn that? I think spirituality may be the answer. There are multiple benefits of forgiveness. It directly influences our thinking process. It sets you free from the negativity building around and boosts positive personality. It saves energy which can be redirected to do productive things. It is also the key to longevity and good health. But, how will you forgive someone who is not even sorry for their action? How will you respond to evil with kindn...

KAILASH SATYARTHI - INDIA'S SANTA CLAUS

We have applauded when an Indian Child Right's advocate and an activist against Child labour Kailash Satyarthi along with Malala Yousafzai got Nobel Peace Prize. The Bachpan Bachao Andolan founded by him has acted to protect more than 83,000 children from 144 countries and still working. Most of us never heard his name because our Politicians and Media ignored his achievement which International Labour Organization recognizes to a great extent. He, in an interview, said: “Politicians didn't find me useful as children are not vote-banks”. When his name finalized for Nobel prize, all Politicians(from their bed) and Media Houses rushed to congratulate Mr Satyarthi who was himself surprised that he soon going to be a Nobel laureate. It is totally shameful that we are doing things just for our own self. Why blame only politicians? We are on the same path and the problem is the mindset. The world is becoming Selfish which I believe need a change so that we can have a peaceful s...

My Tribute To The Missile Man Of India

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was his name, like his 'big name' he leaves behind a very big legacy which cannot be forgotten. He was an example for the underprivileged children that just by will-Power and determination you can reach the top post. The thing matter is "your dream" and how much you work to achieve your dream. If you have a legitimate dream and at night you are not enjoying a sound sleep because you want to achieve that dream as soon as possible, then nothing can stop you from achieving your dream. In his words: "Dream is not that you see in the sleep, but it is something that does not allow you to sleep."  There was nothing negative about him. Everything he said or done had a positive impact to such extent that he was elected as 11th President of India unusually by the BJP and Congress together. The awards he got from Government of India includes —  Padma Bhushan in 1981, Padma Vibhushan in 1990, Bharat Ratna in 1997 and Veer Sa...

The Brand Amma - Social Work or Self Promotion

J Jayalalithaa, the actress turned Chief minister of Tamil Nadu was given the nickname " Amma " by her followers comparing to or assuming her Amma (Mother). But, she developed this nickname to be the biggest brand in Tamil Nadu, the “Amma brand”. Despite having no market value of this brand, it has a very significant value for the people of Tamil Nadu, especially the poor and the have-nots. For them, she is the goddess who is not only filling their hungry stomach but also providing them almost all basic items necessary for living a decent life (including some luxurious items too). After becoming CM, the major work Jayalalithaa's government has done is providing subsidy and freebies to the people. For instance, subsidized cheap food at canteen, packaged water, pharmacy bill, cement, free rice, free mixer grinder, spectacles, mobiles, laptops, bicycles, etc. all under brand "Amma" and at the price no other shopkeepers, manufacturers or the e-commerce compan...

The Magical Castle - Unravelling The Myth

One day, Peter and team decided to give a final try and search the deepest part of the sea. Sadie noticed that there was a large number of aquatic animals moving in and out of a particular place. On further inquiry, she saw a castle, yes it was the magical castle. She felt immense pleasure to see it. She also saw a whale there. She informed Peter about this. Peter and John came there with swords and harpoon, hidden with them. They sent Sadie back to the ship for her safety. As they move forward, Octo uncle saw them and he at once spilled ink as a mark of danger to alert everyone there. Then, came the orca out of the ink to attack them. They moved back in three different directions. The orca chose John and started chasing him. John realised that he can't swim faster than a Whale. So, he aimed the harpoon towards Orca and shot it one after another. This made the orca even more aggressive. John realised that it is his last breath when the aggressive whale was mere 2 ft distance fro...