Is scoring high in exams everything?

It's results season! As CBSE, ICSE, and others announced the fate of students, I remember mine aeons ago. The stress, the anxiety, the nervousness, the sleeplessness…so much so that on the day that my Class 12 results were announced, I managed to have an accident! I was running to relay the news to my mother who was sitting in the car outside the school premises, but instead, I tripped, received multiple fractures on my ankle, ending all plans of celebration thereafter. My results, while good, were nothing compared to today's 99 per cent and above students. It also makes me wonder how education and marking systems have evolved to allow students to even score such high marks. In our days, getting anything above 85 per cent was considered to be nothing short of academic excellence.

But today I write not about the marking system but for the students who didn't get that 99 per cent or even 85 per cent, or who like me are stressed enough to have accidents or sadly, even worse. Perhaps that student received a 50 per cent or 60 per cent; performing averagely at a time when parents (more than the students themselves) prance around on social media like proud peacocks showing off their kids' marks! Some even explaining in detail how much they themselves studied, made notes, created schedules for their kids…sounds exhausting! Also, makes parents like mine sound rather aloof. I mean, we studied to the best of our capacity, had tuitions when needed, but didn't have very hands-on parents.

To the students who didn't ace their papers, whose parents didn't get any bragging rights, I'd like to say, hold on. Your real life awaits you and no marking system can judge your beautiful mind or other qualities that you possess. Maybe you're good at sports, or your painting speaks of a deeper soul within, your singing voice soothes all listeners. It is also quite possible that maybe today you feel like you have no special qualities at all. Even then, just hold on. Your entire life lies ahead of you, and every minor and major struggle that you face and win, is a glorious victory, a win that no educational system can grade. Don't be despondent, but push yourself to the best of your abilities to be the best version of yourself, even if it falls short of others' expectations of you. Be happy with what you are, how much you score, as long as you have worked hard.

Now that my pep talk is done, let me explain the reason behind it. When an IT firm goofed up the marks of students of Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education's (TSBIE) examinations, over 20 students committed suicide. Reports of other cases of suicide have come in from Delhi and Rajasthan. Government records say that suicides committed by students is on the rise. In 2016, 9,474 students committed suicide in India compared to 8,068 in 2014 and 8,934 in 2015. 2,413 students killed themselves in 2016 after failing an examination.

The pressure on students to perform at any cost is creating a generation of disbalanced young adults who are ill-equipped to handle failures. The youth are taught to compete as if their life depends on it. Healthy competition is beneficial but to lose sight of the journey focussing only on the destination is faulty. This mindset has been drilled into our youth by parents, teachers, neighbours, all of us…this unrealistic need to surpass everyone else, this desire to 'top' gives rise to depression, and inability to cope when expectations are thwarted.

Our current education and marking system creates three kinds of students - the achiever, the mediocre, and the failure. But I believe that there are many categories in between – the observant one, the argumentative one, the creative one, the adrenaline pusher, the thinking-out-of-the-box one, the listener, the loyal friend, the brave…so many qualities that can define an individual and marks have little to do with it. We desperately need a new grading system that doesn't steal the joy out of learning and helps in strengthening young minds rather than weaken it.

(The writer is a journalist and media entrepreneur. The views expressed are strictly personal)