We are already in the second month of the new year. Yet, it does not feel quite like February. No, I am not referring to the weather. Spring is very much in the air. All the plants and trees that we have spared have blossomed. The sun is out. And as Robert Browning said, "God is in his Heaven- all is right with the world." Or so it seems.
However, "examination fever," as we used to call it, has not caught on. In fact, it has been effectively endangered, especially after Covid-19 enveloped our planet. For those of you who are still in the dark about my train of thought, let me explain.
Look at the kids around you! Barring the ones who are preparing for the board examinations, everybody else seems to be taking it easy. Schools are busy completing portions and giving revision lessons to their students. Mock tests, parent-teacher meetings, warnings, cautions, et al., seem to be in perfect order. Parents and teachers are nagging the learners; however, the whole scene has lost its verve.
Marks have given way to grades. Writing has given way to selecting the right answers. Everyone concerned is aware that to fail a child amounts to scarring the soul for a lifetime, and it could sometimes pave the way to death or disaster. In this scenario, pupils are expected to go through this rite of passage to be legitimately promoted to the next level.
Now let us rewind to a retro era. Do you remember some of the regular scenes in our old movies? Passing and failing examinations would form the crux of a storyline. The gush of happiness to find one’s hall ticket number in the result list or the shame and sorrow of not finding it captured the ethos of a bygone generation on the silver screen.
When I listen to tales of students burning the midnight oil, studying under streetlamps, and earning while they were learning in order to realise their dreams in the face of hardships and imminent failures, I am awestruck. No, no! I am not referring to their performance in the examinations or their mark sheets or rankings. The nature of examinations has remained the same, no matter what the form!
What is striking is the discipline and dedication shown towards achieving a goal. The willingness to circumvent economic and logistical drawbacks by walking that extra mile to arrive at the destination sounds almost unbelievable. The readiness to use and reuse books, uniforms, and relevant hand-me-downs enriched their ability to value possessions.
Most importantly, their inherent ability to accept failure and the audacity to try again and overcome obstacles shaped their personalities. While they were going through examination fever, I doubt they realised that they were becoming resilient and ready to face the examinations of life with elan.