Stuck in a Pressure Cooker

(Written by my daughter Kali Sreeja Bondada)

Students across the globe, all being stuffed into a pressure inducing environment, just to be graded by a piece of paper.

The bullseye of the contemporary grading system, a system used by many schools and institutes, are exams. These are sheets of paper that can decide the future of millions of children around the world. This must change. This must change for every child who struggles with this sticky situation. This strict system, which has uttermost control over so many lives, much change for the better.?

A Penny’s Worth

Are you a runner? Are you a musician? Are you a master of colour, or are you a reading enthusiast? Well, it doesn’t matter. You know what does, a test at the end of a math unit. This is the type of mentality that’s displayed in most schools. A mere 80 minutes per week, at max, is not enough physical education and is certainly not enough for someone who is blooming in sports. This primitive grading system dulls the lustrous glow of students’ gifts in their hobbies. Scholars are valued like a gem, however, those who flourish in extra curriculars, but don’t particularly shine in academics, have a penny’s worth.?

Although there are no specific statistics stating the number of students who have quit their extracurriculars, many surveys and reports suggest that a very high proportion of 11th and 12th grade students in India are now prioritizing their academic coaching centers over their previously loved hobbies. Some estimates indicate that 70-80 percent of students reduce or completely abandon their extracurriculars in their exam preparation phase.?

Pressure Cooker

When you put more pressure on a pencil, it tries to keep up with that pressure and keeps writing - making sure not to disappoint. But, put too much pressure, it splits and breaks apart. I’m not talking about pencils. These rudimentary grading systems create low self esteem and confidence among students. These rudimentary systems put so much pressure on students, they buckle and end up taking tragic decisions. Suicides, a common situation among many of this generation, of prisoners in institutions that rip away every last glimpse of happiness. These are no longer suicides, but murder. This elementary grading is no longer a system, but a criminal and should be put behind bars. These papers are no longer white, but now drip with crimson.?

According to the most recent NCRB data, in our country, approximately 13,089 students took their lives in the year 2021. This indicates a 32% jump in numbers from 2017, compared to the 9,905 deaths. Theoretically, this means that 36 lives were hauled away EVERY day in 2021. This is true exam pressure, this is what the consequences that students face. The exam paper is no longer an examination, but the Grim Reaper in disguise. The exam paper, is no longer an examination, but the purgatory nightmare that lurks in the dreams of JEE or NEET aspirants in our nation.?

Ivy Leagues Demand Uniqueness

Everyone has dreamed about going to the US, to ivy league schools, like: Harvard, Oxford or Stanford - all premium, dream schools for pupils everywhere. However, these schools dont need highbrow students - they’ve seen enough of that basic batch. They demand for students who can explode the box, not only excelling in exams of tests. This is a methodicalness that we should have high praise for and encourage. Exams and tests just produce us regular, factory-made copies, there is nothing special in that. They scavenge for different qualities, not just your NEET or JEE score.?

Harvard, one of the most prestigious, well-known schools in the world, is famous for its miniscule acceptance rate of just 3.2%. If we follow the mentality worshiped here in Indian colleges, a good exam result should bring very good colleges, right? Wrong. Studies show that even with a perfect SAT score of 1600 and a GPA of 4.0, your chances of acceptance are still at a teeny-tiny 10%. And with a perfect ACT score of 36 and a GPA of 4.0, your chances of acceptance are still lingering at the lower end, at just 13%. Proving my point, by showcasing that passing exams with flying colours, can sometimes, just be a number.

In Orderly Fashion

Taking a look at another perspective of this discussion - many people say that exams keep studies going in an orderly fashion, Beneficial? Yes; it can make sure units are done properly by students and are graded accordingly, their progress is also reflected. Restricting? Yes; kids slave away from young ages, three to four YEARS before big competitive exams like NEET or JEE. These budding younglings are so restricted, their hidden talents tremble in shackles. The next MJ could be locked up in an exam hall, or the next Muhammed Ali be imprisoned in piles of textbooks.?

To sum up this whole discussion, I strongly believe that exams shouldn’t be the only way to test and grade students. Different types of practices should be introduced to suit different skill sets. Essays, group projects/presentations, maybe even adding sport to your final grade should be put into action. A students’ life should no longer be decided by training institutions or parents, and especially not by the crude contemporary grading system, that revolves around sheets of multiple choice questions that don’t provide their writers a choice.?