03 March 2013, 06:56 PM IST
The 12th class board exams are currently under way in many parts of India. For some this is mere information, but for a few it is a reality the prospect of which has consumed them with increasing anxiety for the better part of 5 years. Earlier, the fear was centred first around the 10th class boards, but with the virtual abolition of that barrier, it is concentrated around this one, apparently life changing, event. Students have lived their life in reverse, counting down the days before they encounter this dreaded beast, and parents have created a sense of mortal fear around this landmark, telling their wards stories full of dire warnings and grim prognoses.
At one level, this has always been the case. In the old days, passing the matriculation exam did not merely enable one to pursue further studies as per one's choice, but it also helped one gain the exalted status of being Matric Pass. It was a bona fide qualification that made one worthy of a job as one entered the ranks of the educated ( true even today for many jobs including clerical positions in the Government). Passing matric (even failing it) counted for something, and many a wrist adorned an HMT watch for the first time in recognition of this achievement.
In the simpler world that existed then, passing an exam at all was a big deal; for many it was sufficient simply to pass. Exams carried with them the grammar of toil and the vocabulary of constipation, with the 'passing' representing a crossing of a particularly troublesome threshold. For those who passed, the world was divided neatly into three different compartments- the third class accommodated the trundlers, who were relieved to have squeaked through to the right side of the divide, the second class represented the comfortable world of the average (with those who squeaked in with 51% being those who considered themselves incredibly fortunate and beamed joyously for the rest of their lives), and the rare breed who passed in the first division were the cream of society, much admired and feted. The 'throughout first class' breed boasted of students with shiny foreheads and proud, almost disbelieving parents, who paraded their trophies with anxious pride.
Like the simple division of the world into Science, Commerce and Arts, based not on the student's inclination or aptitude but on the basis of her academic performance, the world of first, second and third class was simple and easy to understand. They were nuances at both ends of the spectrum, a few of the top performers passed in first class with 'distinction' a word that was spoken of only in hushed reverence, while those that were on the brink at the other end, by virtue of having failed in a couple of subjects, were said, at least in Delhi, to have passed with 'compartment' ( in Gujarat they were described with the curious acronym ATKT- Allowed To Keep Terms).
Today, of course, such clarity is rarely available. Merely passing has little value, and the concept of first class makes little sense at a time when scoring 90% is seen as being insufficient. If the purpose of a qualifying exam like this was to divide the world into neat parts and give the student of sense of where he lay in the overall scheme of things, the current system works hard at making everyone equally anxious and unhappy. One can never do well enough, one can only fail with varying degrees of disappointment.
The idea of a big barrier that needed to be crossed before the student is ready for other things in life, be it taking up work or engaging in further studies is easy to understand. At the most fundamental level, any change in life stage must be marked with a sense of ceremony so as to make us aware of its significance. Birthdays, the coming of age in terms of sexual maturity, moving from school to college, graduating, getting married- all these events need a sense of occasion, an underlining of significance that prepares us to change gears and alerts others of our new status. In more functional terms the idea of a significant qualifying exam also helps sort the undifferentiated mass of students into different streams of careers, using some organising principle, however arbitrary.
Today, much has changed. The number of career options has multiplied, and many more avenues have opened up to success. The world can no longer be divided linearly into a few hierarchical segments. Given the new reality, the fuss around the board exams is difficult to understand. Professional courses, in any case, have their own entrance exams (the IITJEE being the most prominent), and the choice of subjects at the college level does not matter all that much, for it is the post-graduate degree that determines the quality of jobs one will get. The choice of the college too plays a minor role at best ( barring maybe a college or two, where if nothing else, the badge value of belonging carries some advantages), and in any case, college at the undergraduate level is hardly seen as a site of academic rigour.
The importance given to the 12th class exams reflects apart from a mythic need to cross a difficult hurdle with some ceremony, nothing more than a need for validation, particularly for the parents. Being able to get into a coveted course or college ( even if there is little real benefit that will accrue as result) is sign of success because it has been deemed to be so. In reality, it is based on little real evidence and determines very little about the young adult's future. By now, we should outgrown this institution, for barring an academic sense of pride in doing well at the board exams, not too much is at stake. As a parent whose child is appearing in the exams, that is what i tell myself. Without much success.
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