As students panic and parents wobble around the centres of ongoing examinations, one of the ‘failed’ students of our education system sharpens his blade to massacre the speedsters in far-off Caribbean. It comes as an interesting analogy buttered with irony. Sachin Tendulkar, the revered toast of Indian cricket team couldn’t get past the gruel of traditional school education.
So for thousands of students who might fail the ongoing examination, life would not necessarily end as the socially conditioned mindset and peer pressure would make them believe. Said Former UGC Chairman and noted educationist Prof Yashpal, to TSI, “How many gurus have gone to school and how many musicians have topped exams? Examinations matter but only to a little extent.”
It then seems ridiculous to label a student’s efforts as ‘failure’. Dr. P.M. Bhargava, Vice Chairman, National Knowledge Commission concurs while speaking to TSI, “The word ‘fail’ should never be used while assessing anyone’s performance. Evaluation system based on overall performance of every year of education should be an ideal alternative to follow.”
It is necessary to create a system that recognises the talents lying beyond perview of the present educational system and the one that incorporates traditional knowledge. Notes social analyst Sapan Mishra, “There have been several people, craftsmen for example, whose knowledge of their skills has been simply phenomenal. Our system myopically doesn’t recognise their achievements before labelling them illiterates or backward.”
Before a few more lives are swallowed by the social disrepute called ‘failure’, it is necessary that the government constructively creates ‘course and credit system’ based on internal assessment. “Knowledge based society,” as Dr. Bhargava calls it, “can never be achieved by highlighting limitations of people but alternatively by exploring their talents.”