And across the Indian sub-continent, the Class 10 and 12 Board results have been more or less de-classified. Joyous parents of children who scored 99% and above are rejoicing and celebrating whilst the 80-95% are pulling out their hair perhaps, hounding themselves and their children no end for low (pun intended) percentages and a dim future in getting top-end courses in high-end colleges (pun again intended).
Quite a parody to my mind, where a child barely getting out of his teens has to be subjected to such family and peer pressures. Is that 99% the end of all of life at age 18? Definitely not!!
Together, you and I can cry ourselves hoarse, blaming the education system, which does not seek intelligence or practical application or street smartness in a child but exults in his ability to ‘rote’ and to deliver set-piece answers …. answers which some overqualified teachers may perhaps have written and floated in the commercial market. No! I am not pointing a finger at any or all teachers. It is the system some educationists create that has destroyed the child’s freedom to think out-of-the-box.
Perhaps we need a review …. a review where every question is subject to interpretation has multiple probable answers, and additional marks for logical, innovative expression by any student, beyond these multiple choices. I feel that would separate the wheat from the chaff and boost the intellectuals rather than the rote students.
Percentages and high-end college tags are no longer the norms. A whole new world of opportunities awaits the smart innovators and the go-getters. From fashion to space to AI, the boundaries are limitless. The only limit is YOU. So, forget the percentile … it has only historic value … move on. With Google and ChatGPT, rote knowledge cluttering your brain is passé …. the successful application of this knowledge available at our fingertips is what matters.
Ups and downs are part of life. There is no shame in failure … there is only learning and a new beginning. To some of you who think the low percentage is the end of life and actually, take that seriously enough to ruminate ‘snuffing’ yourself out, please throw the idea out. That’s sheer cowardice. Talk your heart out to your parents. Parents listen and empathize, not ostracize. A child alive can bring accolades another day, a child dead can only bring remorse and sorrow.
by Col Anil Alagh (9312247284)
