EXAMINATIONS

Examinations have become an indispensable part of our present educational system. A student is subjected to examinations right from the beginning of his education and has to go through all sorts of examinations until and after he completes his education. The innocent toddler has to go through a test to secure admission to the K.G. class. A young man seeking recruitment after his education is completed depends on some sort of test or examination. Thus examinations have assumed an importance out of proportion to their actual educational value. The chief anxiety of a student is not how to study but how to prepare for and pass his examination; and that of the teacher is not how to teach or what to teach but how to coach his pupils for their examinations. A school or a college is judged not by its overall contribution to the all-round progress of its pupils but by its examination results. Thus examinations have become the be-all and end-all of our educational system. Because of their exaggerated importance, examinations have become a veritable nightmare for our pupils.

Thus, our examinations kill all interests of students in study. They put a high premium on memory. They encourage cramming. Luck, the student's own health and the subjectivity and the mood of the examiner are factors which can play havoc with a student's career.

Examinations of today are games of chance, mere gambles, and are sometimes known to fail scholars and pass dunces. We need to overhaul the entire present system of examinations in the best interest of our students. The element of chance must be eliminated as much as possible. Instead, a system of evaluation of the student's overall performance and progress throughout the year should be introduced.

Lastly, the degree-job nexus must be ended. Those who do not want to pursue higher studies and instead want to take up jobs, should be provided both in-job and out-of-the-job training which would help them to achieve the skill and knowledge necessary for the job and get promotion.