COVID VS EXAMS

The rise in covid cases directly led to the fall of the very system of education in the country. “Covid cases rising” is an everyday statement in all news forms, making it look more like a Tamasha than a grim situation. Talking about education, the effect of covid was primarily seen in several significant exams being postponed making it appear as the need of the hour! The CBSE after much contemplation and apparent concern, and with a lot of support from the students and parents, cancelled the class 10 examinations. Soon ICSE followed suit with a weird strategy of assessment which from any angle did not seem judicious at all!

Now the stage is all set for the next show, that is the cancellation of the class 12 exams. Everyday, you find a headline which says an important announcement of class 12 exams, or important things you need to know about the class 12 exams etc, etc. If you are a teacher or a parent of a board candidate, you quickly get to the details of the news, only to find that it’s the repeat of the previous days news which informs you that both the boards are still contemplating. The irony is that both boards are very aware that they will cancel it, especially now that they have a large percentage of parents and students appealing to them, but both spending days with “contemplation” and “considering” as news.

There was much talk in the media about the notion that if students appear for boards, it will be like playing on their lives- they are the future of the country etc etc.

Now my point is that I do understand that the situation in the country is very grim, and that one must be extremely careful at every movement, follow instructions religiously, because anything can happen to anyone, at any time, if we are not careful.

But I still can’t fail to overlook the other side of the story which is equally grim. When the country is facing the corona crisis and the death rate is soaring high, was it an absolute necessity to conduct the elections? Were huge rallies with rules broken by the rule setters a must? On the other hand thousands of people chose this crisis period to pour out their devotion and the obvious Kumbh Mela happened! Thousands at the rallies and thousands at the Kumbh Mela and rules gone with the wind! And that’s not where the story ended. People in such onerous situation had the mindset to even get married! Forget about rules it seemed that corona never happened.

Now my question is that this huge appeal that’s going on about the cancellation of the class 12 exam, is it not hypocrisy? When thousands of adults moved about ignoring EVERYTHING about the pandemic, did none of them have board candidates at home? Then, were they not putting young lives at risk? Was precaution thrown to the winds? Suddenly awareness dawns and consequently exams are attacked. Result- a weird assessment system whereby the weak students gain and the hard workers lose. Imagine the plight of those students who have really put in their best throughout the year to reach the gates of the top colleges! And what happens when they go to college with some average marks given to them as a consolation prize? Future slaughtered! Couldn’t the money spent on elections be actually utilized to plant the right infrastructure and the right precautionary measures to all schools for the smooth conducting of the exams? Why were “power fights” more important than exams which actually involve the future of young lives?

For a country with an already ailing system of education, this is yet another set-back — what a shame!

I rest my case with a hope to see the “golden era” of India one day.