Examination :The Mocking Muck
Nursing a hideous capillary burst in my left eye, I was rather struggling to monitor every activity in the examination hall when I noticed a girl fiddling with her hands in a doubtful manner. I walked toward her quietly and found a piece of crumbled paper under her answer book. Before I could ask, ‘How in the world can you read this illegible text?’ she spoke. ‘Ma’am, meri Maa mar gayi hai.’ Clenching the fist of my right hand, I wanted to knock her off and in my head I was already standing in a Bruce Lee pose. I could make at least one of her eyes look worse than my left one but an examiner is supposed to show restraint so, I didn’t punch her. Moreover, in these times, of all good deeds, self-defence is the most righteous one and therefore I decided to do myself a favour and reported the case to higher ups. However, I spent the rest of the time thinking; will we ever stop making excuses for our wrongdoings? Not in the near future, perhaps.
This was Day 1 but definitely not the only case. However, erring examinees knew what to say, if and when caught red handed. Summer O’ 16 saved them all. But, did it? Yes, we are wounded, our children are conflict-ridden but to be resilient means to live a life of honour amid crisis and not to exploit it. If we do, we are at loss. If we do, we are making slaves out of ourselves while fighting for the right of living an honourable life. If we do, we are losing lives, no one is counting.
Day 2 seemed relatively calm till a colleague reported a cry baby. In the third row, a girl was crying, panting, wailing, crying and talking… ‘Meri Urdu achi nahin hai aur main iss bar tuition b nahin gayi’. I tried to calm her down but suddenly I remembered she is the one who created a cry scene on the day of her previous paper too! All set to rebut her and show her what a vigilant examiner I was, I heard an adult voice talking on phone in the passageway. ‘Don’t worry, centre main sab apne he hai.’said the voice in an extremely contenting tone. I am sure the person on the other side of the line had a sigh of relief but I wanted to run. I wanted to hide behind the only dais in the room or for that moment, I could even get under one of the writing desks. I was not in a mood to listen to gibberish like, ‘Yeh sawaab ka kaam hai.’ It is a task to explain to such people that it is only about the right and the wrong and there is no ‘sawaab’ in doing something wrong. Anyway, the man, without seeking any permission of course, entered the examination hall and, thankfully, approached the other examiner in our centre. I stopped looking for a hiding place and got back to work. I have no idea what kind of ‘Sawaab-Insaaf’ talk the two had and didn’t even want to eavesdrop.
The point I want to make here is that, examination this year, like many others in the past, is a mockery and this statement is completely apolitical. I am speaking apolitically because the muck is so deep-rooted that all of it cannot be attributed to the governance that works for six years only. Howsoever dedicated, a Education minister or the heads of the department cannot keep a tab on everyone associated. It is a collective responsibility of parents, teachers, students, administrators and all the other citizens. Because of this sufarishi and sawaab culture, we are neck deep in trouble and only inches away from drowning. We need to stand up and act before it is too late. At times, I feel, it already is and we have caused a lasting damage to the education sector. But, wait, there still is hope! In the same examination centre, a terminally ill girl is also appearing in her 12th class examinations and she seems to be doing really well. Hers is the resilience we should all practice and boast of.
The government this year announced open choice in the 10th and 12th class examinations and the students were asked to attempt 50% questions only. May be, this is the only choice the govt. had, as far as the circumstances are concerned but, academically speaking, it is highly damaging to the system. The biggest damage such policies set off, as this one already has, is,they instil a detrimental sense of superiority in students. This year, the students sit in the examination centres considering, the staff on duty will do them favours just like the govt. has and they can have a field day in the otherwise sacred examination centres. To maintain discipline in the examination centres has become a mission similar to disciplining an unruly herd of cattle and it’s exhausting; physically as well as mentally. The conduct of examination might have helped in bringing back normalcy but it has irreparably dented the psyche of the students. Parents and teachers will have to gird up their loins if at all we wish to flatten these dents.
I have grown up as a daughter of a man who, while in service had a reputation of conducting examinations in the strictest possible manner. Prof Zargar would ask his team to be careful about the choice of their footwear when on duty, as the tapping of their feet could disturb the examinees. He continued with his habits even in the 90s and some say, 90s were bad! But, let me tell you, nothing can be worse than the era in which you cannot decide who is more noisy in the examination centre, the examinees or the examiners? Be it demonetisation or the unusually cold November, the debates don’t stop, examination is just another thing happening in the room. And, it might take us ages to develop the culture of switching off our mobile phones while on duty because we have ‘huth pareshaani’! I don’t want to go into the ‘teachers are the builders of the nation’ details because we have had enough of all this rhetoric. We need to act. As I said, the muck is deep-rooted and teachers have the most important role to play in washing it away. We, as a community need to pull our socks up and shoulder the responsibility rather than wasting our time in complaining and condemning. You may not always get to sit in the garden but that should not stop you from planting trees. Can we please start today and leave behind a legacy worth something?
During the on-going 12th class examinations, I have developed a certain dislike for the style of parenting we do here. To be a parent is not easy because as a parent you don’t only have to provide your child with a fashionable wardrobe and a gourmet every dinner but, it is primarily about instilling life-skills in your children. After every paper it is kind of a family reunion outside the gates and these children trust me, are never going to learn how to survive under pressure. A 12th class student is a grown-up so; let them be on their own, at least on the ‘full- day deal’ days. Let them do a little battle with difficulties so that they learn to fight back. During an active academic session, teachers too must take some time out of the academic timetable and talk a little about life. In the end, Economics and Angrezi are not the only things a child needs to survive in this world.
The other day, it actually took me some twenty minutes to manoeuvre my car through the gate of an examination centre and up to a mile or so, all I could see was; Papas, Mammas, Daadus, Daadis, Naanas, Naaanis and countless vehicles. The roads were so chaotic that I thought, by the evening, the traffic police will issue an advisory and suggest carpooling to these restless parents. But they seem to be practising ‘Keep Calm. This too shall be over.’
May be, I too should start chanting the mantra but, I still maintain, all of this will be over only if we decide to wipe it all out.
This was Day 1 but definitely not the only case. However, erring examinees knew what to say, if and when caught red handed. Summer O’ 16 saved them all. But, did it? Yes, we are wounded, our children are conflict-ridden but to be resilient means to live a life of honour amid crisis and not to exploit it. If we do, we are at loss. If we do, we are making slaves out of ourselves while fighting for the right of living an honourable life. If we do, we are losing lives, no one is counting.
Day 2 seemed relatively calm till a colleague reported a cry baby. In the third row, a girl was crying, panting, wailing, crying and talking… ‘Meri Urdu achi nahin hai aur main iss bar tuition b nahin gayi’. I tried to calm her down but suddenly I remembered she is the one who created a cry scene on the day of her previous paper too! All set to rebut her and show her what a vigilant examiner I was, I heard an adult voice talking on phone in the passageway. ‘Don’t worry, centre main sab apne he hai.’said the voice in an extremely contenting tone. I am sure the person on the other side of the line had a sigh of relief but I wanted to run. I wanted to hide behind the only dais in the room or for that moment, I could even get under one of the writing desks. I was not in a mood to listen to gibberish like, ‘Yeh sawaab ka kaam hai.’ It is a task to explain to such people that it is only about the right and the wrong and there is no ‘sawaab’ in doing something wrong. Anyway, the man, without seeking any permission of course, entered the examination hall and, thankfully, approached the other examiner in our centre. I stopped looking for a hiding place and got back to work. I have no idea what kind of ‘Sawaab-Insaaf’ talk the two had and didn’t even want to eavesdrop.
The point I want to make here is that, examination this year, like many others in the past, is a mockery and this statement is completely apolitical. I am speaking apolitically because the muck is so deep-rooted that all of it cannot be attributed to the governance that works for six years only. Howsoever dedicated, a Education minister or the heads of the department cannot keep a tab on everyone associated. It is a collective responsibility of parents, teachers, students, administrators and all the other citizens. Because of this sufarishi and sawaab culture, we are neck deep in trouble and only inches away from drowning. We need to stand up and act before it is too late. At times, I feel, it already is and we have caused a lasting damage to the education sector. But, wait, there still is hope! In the same examination centre, a terminally ill girl is also appearing in her 12th class examinations and she seems to be doing really well. Hers is the resilience we should all practice and boast of.
The government this year announced open choice in the 10th and 12th class examinations and the students were asked to attempt 50% questions only. May be, this is the only choice the govt. had, as far as the circumstances are concerned but, academically speaking, it is highly damaging to the system. The biggest damage such policies set off, as this one already has, is,they instil a detrimental sense of superiority in students. This year, the students sit in the examination centres considering, the staff on duty will do them favours just like the govt. has and they can have a field day in the otherwise sacred examination centres. To maintain discipline in the examination centres has become a mission similar to disciplining an unruly herd of cattle and it’s exhausting; physically as well as mentally. The conduct of examination might have helped in bringing back normalcy but it has irreparably dented the psyche of the students. Parents and teachers will have to gird up their loins if at all we wish to flatten these dents.
I have grown up as a daughter of a man who, while in service had a reputation of conducting examinations in the strictest possible manner. Prof Zargar would ask his team to be careful about the choice of their footwear when on duty, as the tapping of their feet could disturb the examinees. He continued with his habits even in the 90s and some say, 90s were bad! But, let me tell you, nothing can be worse than the era in which you cannot decide who is more noisy in the examination centre, the examinees or the examiners? Be it demonetisation or the unusually cold November, the debates don’t stop, examination is just another thing happening in the room. And, it might take us ages to develop the culture of switching off our mobile phones while on duty because we have ‘huth pareshaani’! I don’t want to go into the ‘teachers are the builders of the nation’ details because we have had enough of all this rhetoric. We need to act. As I said, the muck is deep-rooted and teachers have the most important role to play in washing it away. We, as a community need to pull our socks up and shoulder the responsibility rather than wasting our time in complaining and condemning. You may not always get to sit in the garden but that should not stop you from planting trees. Can we please start today and leave behind a legacy worth something?
During the on-going 12th class examinations, I have developed a certain dislike for the style of parenting we do here. To be a parent is not easy because as a parent you don’t only have to provide your child with a fashionable wardrobe and a gourmet every dinner but, it is primarily about instilling life-skills in your children. After every paper it is kind of a family reunion outside the gates and these children trust me, are never going to learn how to survive under pressure. A 12th class student is a grown-up so; let them be on their own, at least on the ‘full- day deal’ days. Let them do a little battle with difficulties so that they learn to fight back. During an active academic session, teachers too must take some time out of the academic timetable and talk a little about life. In the end, Economics and Angrezi are not the only things a child needs to survive in this world.
The other day, it actually took me some twenty minutes to manoeuvre my car through the gate of an examination centre and up to a mile or so, all I could see was; Papas, Mammas, Daadus, Daadis, Naanas, Naaanis and countless vehicles. The roads were so chaotic that I thought, by the evening, the traffic police will issue an advisory and suggest carpooling to these restless parents. But they seem to be practising ‘Keep Calm. This too shall be over.’
May be, I too should start chanting the mantra but, I still maintain, all of this will be over only if we decide to wipe it all out.
Its really beautiful, Your writing and thoughts are amazing, being a kashmiri trapped with in the same corners as you are, I could relate almost everything that you have written.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work.
Love from Delhi