M.Z.Zulfi
ASCO, AUR
ASCO, AUR
Education in our country is fast expanding rather by leaps and bounds but the quality and standard of education is deteriorated. The main purpose of education is to help seekers to develop to the best of their ability and to find a suitable and satisfying vocation. And examinations are the only means of judging how far that purpose has served. They thus occupy a very important place in the system of education. In a country like India where degree is valued more as a passport to a job than as evidence of academic attainments, they require added importance and the word ‘qualification’ inserted in advertisements of job vacancies is generally taken to mean degrees or diplomas gained through examination.
‘Practice makes a man perfect but no one perfect so why practice ’
There is hardly any system devised by man which can be called perfect. Our examination system is no exception. In fact, it has more than its share of defects. The whole idea of judging a student’s worth during three hours of performance is psychologically wrong sometimes even a brilliant student fail to make their mark in the examination hall, where as the dull students fare better often with the help of foreign aid (unfair means). The present process of examination lays too much emphasis on cramming work. Students learn something by role and disgorge it on the paper in the examination hall. After the examination is over they forget everything, they had so diligently learnt. Cram work saps the source of original thinking. One of the greatest defects of the present system of examination is that students stop thinking for themselves. They do not develop the creative faculties. Their mental growth is stunted.
Examinations at present are best test of memory only and there is a technique of making the grade in them. Those who have mastered, that technique secure good marks even without any preparation which should enable one to stand in the queue for a job. If it is to be real test of an individual’s qualities of head and heart an examination must test his ability to think creatively, comprehend quickly, judge accurately and express clearly. But our examinations have an entirely different orientation. They are mostly crude essay type. There is a premium on parrot like memorization at the cost of reason and intelligence. Even in the highest degree of examinations, subject centered and role-learning counts while original thinking is at a discount. Instead of encouraging thinking for himself, the student is often punished for it.
A candidate taking an examination in English literature is safe as he confines himself to quoting famous critics. But as soon as he ventures to express his own opinion, he is on dangerous ground. Chances are that the examiner who is himself incapable of original thinking and has all his life taken pride in being able to quote a hundred critics from memory well treat the candidate’s attempt as a piece of sheer arrogance and penalize him for it. The miseries do not end here. After the candidate has answered the question paper, he is at the mercy of the examiner. The examiner’s predilections can also cause distortions and play havoc with student’s career. After all examiner too is a human being and as fallible as any one else. But the mistakes he makes are costly. They can cause acute mental agony to candidates on whom he delivers wrong judgment. And yet he presumes to stamp a student a failure or give him a third, second or first class just in about seven or Eight minutes. How reliable this method of testing candidate’s ability can be what is the student doing under present system of Examination? They just burn mid-night oil one month before the examination with the attitude of a gambler. They prepare some guess papers and just cram few topics in order to pass the examination. Examination is often a terror for the students especially for Kashmiri ones. As they have seen turmoil during their elementary stage. Going to the examination hall is for majority of students is like a poor goat’s going to a slaughter house. At mere mention of the word examination student begin to tremble and show signs of dejection and unsatisfaction.
A degree achieved by such type of faulty examination system is not necessary to be a great writer or genius. Great men; world has ever produced never went to colleges and universities. Genius sometime flourishes outside the camping influence of educational institutions. Kalidas, Leo Tolstoy, William Shakespeare. Michael Faraday, Charles Robert Darwin and the list goes on. These people were mighty brains which shook the world. Thomas Alva Edison the greatest of all scientist failed in class 4th four times. Bill Gates owner of Microsoft international is only high school drop out. The fact is university education is not absolutely necessary for fashioning the future of a person and making him a literary giant. There can be not two opinions about urgent need for reform in our examination system. Universities have to adopt other measure also to improve their education standards and techniques of testing the candidates. First of all they must take step to reduce the number of failures. There is no virtue in a candidate being able to get through all subjects in a single comprehensive test of a brief duration universities must not make light of throwing young people’s out of the game of life. Simply because they are not able to pass the examination. The student must also be allowed to choose a vocation and provided facilities to acquire the necessary skill follow it so that when he leaves, portals of his alma-mater he is well equipped to face life and does not feel like bade in the wood. So at last we can say that examinations are not true test of one’s ability.
ALL THE BEST AMITIANS!!!!
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