The Exam Conundrum
Recent developments show why the Indian education system has jeopardised its students’ future
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”
In a country like India with a gigantic population, education has an impact on not just individual lives but the entire economy. Some of the brightest minds of the country are created in these formative years, because of which India supplies doctors, teachers, engineers and blue collar workers to developed countries all over the world.
After going through the rigmarole of school education, India’s students mostly look to pursue higher studies in fields like medicine, law, engineering among others. With years of stressful preparation by lakhs of students to gain a few thousand seats in the top-ranked colleges, the competition is pretty stiff. But in the recent past, some events have thrown students’ future into jeopardy.
To give exams or not to?
Recently, two exams, namely the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and National Eligibility Test (NET) have come under the lens. The former had multiple reasons for being questioned including paper leak allegations, questionable marking, awarding of grace marks and more. Meanwhile, the latter was cancelled a day after being successfully conducted due to purported paper tampering or ‘compromising of integrity’. The hashtags of both exams found themselves in the top trends of X (formerly Twitter) in India.
This year, the NET was especially significant as it would grant admissions for PhD along with qualification of Assistant Professorship. However, due to the systemic lapses or cyber crime, the exam will have to be taken again by over 11 lakh students. The academic session is derailed with students left puzzled about their future course of action. It is no surprise that students are taking to the streets to demonstrate their displeasure with the current state of affairs in the education sector.
Struggling to cope
With the introduction of so many changes in the education policies, examination syllabi and guidelines, parents and teachers find it difficult to keep up and guide their students. Exams are getting postponed at the last minute, or even worse, cancelled after they are conducted. Imagine giving an exam and coming out of the exam centre confidently, just to know the next day that all your efforts were in vain and you have to re-appear for the exam because of security lapses?
The effort and hard work of millions of students goes down the drain. Those who are counting on clearing exams to apply for jobs and college admissions remain stuck in a rut. Stressful circumstances prompt students to take extreme steps. It’s no surprise that those with means are moving to different education systems, or even different countries, to complete their education.
Those conducting exams should take utmost precautions to facilitate them smoothly. Students and other stakeholders who are employing unfair means to score marks in an examination should try to understand that they are jeopardizing the exam for all their compatriots. Keeping exam papers in sealed envelopes under high security is not a Herculean task. If we can conduct the world’s largest democratic elections in a free and fair manner, shouldn’t our examination and education systems be at par?
After all, it’s a question of the future of our youth populace.