Examination: A Means to An End or An End in Itself |
|||||||
Shalu Mehra |
![]() |
||||||
Well, to begin with, examinations should actually serve as a testing ground for the students, so that more important than anything else, they themselves are able to gauge their own levels, as well as ascertain if at all, any learning has taken place and to what extent. To the parents too this can prove to be of some help, where they can be enlightened about their child’s progress (though tested under restricted conditions). Afterall, they do spend a fortune on their child’s education, so it has to be accepted that they have every right to be acquainted with the direction in which their child is heading. If we keep all the above-mentioned aspects of examinations in mind, we can certainly reap benefits from this concept that can prove to be a means to an end. Better said, it can act as a resting phase in the students’ pursuit of real learning. On the other hand, however, what most of us have made out examinations to be is an end in itself. We focus not on our process of learning, not so much on attaining awareness, but somehow stress unquestionably upon clearing the exams. To be candid, it is more of a social conditioning that we’ve all got used to. Our hearty acceptance of toppers, while a rejection of the candidates who are not able to clear their tests, is a strong reflection of our system, which not only lays gratuitous and uncalled for emphasis on “clearing examinations”, but deters the young minds to be more open to change, hinders their creative abilities and acts more like a barrier to their acquisition of knowledge. An openness towards learning as such, which provides students with an impetus to gain more in terms of knowledge and experience and that can help them to be confident individuals should rather form the foremost agenda of our education system. Here, needless to say, examinations can indisputably perform the task of motivating students to learn better, as well as certainly with more dedication and moreover, undeniably not as a concept developed by the authorities to demoralize them. Image under license with Gettyimages.com |
|||||||
Share This: | |||||||
|
|||||||
Views: 3621 Comments: 0 | |||||||
|
|