MARKS DOESN’T MEAN MERIT

A spell of exam results is in bloom. Congratulations to the toppers. After all, only toppers deserve to live. Rest is deadwood. Recently, 12^th class results repeated the ruthless trend of glorifying the toppers. The coaching institutes were the first traders to jump to claim the rare feat.  Like the predators, they whisked away the toppers in desperation to use them as cash crops to reap the monetary benefits. They will transform it into higher price tags. The media houses were also in the race of glorification of absurdity. Here the entire education system becomes illogical and disastrous. If you will test the intelligence by cramming, syllabus concessions etc, how will you nail the real creativity? You glamorize flowers, you ignore the roots. That is the tragedy with our society. The spirit of competition is lost in the entire process. Our toppers are being infused with the life of fake glamour. In the entire celebration, they remain alien with the fierce cut throat competitions where the marks don’t hold any weight. The toppers should understand the situation. Today’s celebration may prove to be the rejection of the future. Today’s obsession may prove a regret. The creativity is being killed, ruthlessly. We are manufacturing marks minting robots.

The education system of Finland is considered one of the best education systems in the world. It's consistently one of the highest performing developed countries on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), an important tool for measuring education systems worldwide. The students in Finland take only one standardized test during their entire primary and secondary schooling. They rarely take exams or do homework until they are well into their teens. That doesn’t mean that the students in Finland are not intelligent. They are the pearls of knowledge. Einstein who discovered the complex theories in science was never good at school exams. His teachers declared him as a poor student and mentally retarded when he was at school.   He became a lifelong visiting professor at a university in the Netherlands and a tenured professor at Princeton University.  That is and will continue to exist as the live example in history to guide our illusionary glamour of higher scores. Marks doesn’t mean merit.

Year after year, curriculum changes and so do exam patterns, but the gripping fear and anxiety of scoring well in examinations refuse to change. In a society obsessed with marks, the one where a student is asked for his percentage before name and scores and interests, it is not surprising that the mania refuses to die down. Don't misunderstand marks with success. Marks don’t hold any water unless you have the fierce attitude to face the music of cut throat competitions. It is only society that weighs toppers as future nation builders. There is something called determination despite being average. It is rare but priceless. Don't try to be the marks minting machines. Be original. The perception of success and failure is based on an absurd evaluation through exams. Invest in self-development, educate your soul. Beautiful innovations have erupted from the average mind. Be the agents of change rather than a runner in the rat race of marks. Script your own success. Let the inner beauty of intelligence unleash. That will make the world a better place.

(The author holds a P.G in Mass Communication and Journalism and writes on diverse issues. He can be reached at ummushaanu@gmail.com)