Exams – the purpose and design of which should’ve been for students to find the potential field they would be good at – have now become the most dreadful nightmare of teenage life. Students are asked to “outperform” their classmates, whereas the whole point of exams should have been to realise one's potential and work in that direction, not be in a competition.
Sleepless nights, long hours of intense study, tuition, and most importantly a near perfect percentage have become the description of Board exams. What needs to be realised is that this is not the dead end, but the beginning. Somethings about Boards and our society makes me uneasy, especially statements made by people on the lines of “85 percent is average” or “95 percent is not that good a score”. All aunties – please take a deep breath and relax!
Societal pressure plays a crucial role in students fearing Board exams. Comparisons with other students are made regularly. Parents and relatives pressure their kids to do better than brilliant, and of course do better than "Sharma ji ka beta” or “maasi ka ladka."
Parents are becoming so concerned about their children that they are not letting them experiment with subjects, rather they are convincing their children to take subjects like Science and Maths not considering the true potential of their child.
At the end of the day they have to realise a fact that not every child can be a doctor, engineer, or an IAS officer, and that is okay.
I hope parents realise this and change their outlook towards Board marks, so that students feel their support and can perform with positivity and less anxiety. They should also let them choose subjects of their interest and push them, motivate them and make them realise that he/she doesn't need to meet any standard score or be excellent but should rather concentrate on giving their 100 percent and not fear losing out. There are many examples of great people who were not brilliant in studies but were excellent in their field of their interest.
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