The Board Examination results are out. And as usual, there is a huge rush of students to seek admission in colleges. Life for students has become very tough and competitive now. When I was a kid, getting 80 per cent was difficult. When I cleared my board exams, scoring 90 per cent was difficult. Now, after a decade since I answered my board exams nobody talks about a person scoring below 90 per cent. Besides, with each passing day, the syllabus is becoming tough. Of course, students with each passing generation are better in intellect. However, this doesn’t mean we put extra burden on them.
The cut off marks of colleges are such that it enhances the spirit of competition on students. Some of the best colleges in Delhi have their cut off at 100 per cent. This simply means that one cannot be less than perfect to get enrolled in the top most colleges of the country. One per cent less and your name do not appear in the list of students who obtained admission to a particular college. This dampens the spirit of the prospective college going students and raises the tension of parents. Thus they spend more hours engrossed into academic books.
Parents pressurise their students into studying out of the fear that they might lose out on getting enrolled into a good college and may miss out a better job opportunity. So students have to attend several coaching classes in case they want to appear for joint entrance examinations. A luxurious life is something everyone runs after. A smooth sailing life, good financial backing is something everyone craves for. So they enter into the competition. However, their minds are sensitive. A little bit of extra pressure and the tender minds, are unable to cope up with the burden. Sometimes they resort to committing suicide or taking other drastic steps or might succumb to health problems.
Results are not the yardstick to measure a student’s capability. The actual test begins when one joins a job. Your marks might help you get employment but will certainly not help you retain it. For that, you will have to prove your expertise in your job profile. Many students excel in studies but their performance in job is dismal and vice versa. Besides, at old age, no one will ask you how much you scored in your board examination. They will be more bothered about what you achieved in your career and marital life and what kind of personality you turned into. Thus one request to parents, let youth remain youth. Don’t take away their childhood from them.
