Ugly side of competitive exams comes to the fore, again
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: February 27, 2023 -

Pending final report of investigation, if any, into the violent incident that occurred at a class XII examination centre school in Yairipok area under Thoubal district on Saturday, it would be presumptuous to put the blame on either the student candidates or hold the teachers on duty accountable.

However, it could be safely stated that pelting of stones and destroying the school's properties by some students reflect apprehension on the part of the perpetrators of faring poorly in the examination.

Vis-a-vis the incident on Saturday there emerged two different tales with one indicating that the students resorted to the act of vandalism in protest against the examination invigilators not entertaining request for provision of additional minutes or the contention that there were instances of favouritism inside the examination hall whereas on the other-hand the students are being accused of turning violent after use of unfair means was strictly prohibited at the centre.

Nevertheless, the incident underscores the tremendous peer and parental pressure the student candidates generally face while appearing for class XII or class X examinations and tendency of ordinary students to resort to cheating to cross the hurdle.

Among others, parental pressure to see their wards outshine their peers in these two crucial examinations has been one of the reasons for the students to focus on scoring high marks, including resorting to unfair means.

Such a trend also clearly testifies that the examination system is pushing students to the wall and making them to assume examinations as a do-or-die situation.

Though rare, groups of berserk students defying guidelines laid down for such examinations had been reported occasionally in the state, consequently prompting the board or the council overseeing conduct of the examinations to form special teams of flying squads comprising representatives of government officials and student bodies.

Even students and civil organisations excluded from such vigilante teams make it a point to advice the students to refrain from unethical means.

For instance, when then secretary of Board of Secondary Education Manipur (BSEM) Akham Joykumar announced few days before commencement of the HSLC-2018 examination that volunteers of student organisations would be made partners in cracking down on use of unfair, it had sent a clear message that the class X and XII examinations being conducted in the state need more effective remedial measures to cleanse the system.

The secretary's apprehension over possibility of the candidates resorting to different means to pass the examinations was validated when volunteers of a students' body detected one of the examinees at a centre in Lilong area using mobile phone to copy prepared answers sent through the WhatsApp medium.

While decision to take the student volunteers into confidence for the ensuing examinations was obviously due to the acknowledgement about the role and necessity of involving vigilante groups, including student activists, in tightening the grip against use of unfair means, the particular candidate managing to sneak in the communication gadget led to posers over competency and sincerity of the teacher invigilators on duty and that they were not trustworthy to entrust such a responsible task.

Probably stunned by the Lilong centre case, board and council authorities issued strong instructions to the school authorities to conduct body search before allowing the candidates to enter the examination hall, and since then use of communication gadgets seem to have been effectively curtailed.

However, expulsion of 10 candidates till the end of the second day of the ongoing class XII examination implies that use of unfair means remains unstoppable.

The state may be relatively better placed in terms of overall rate of literacy but poor pass percentage in class X and XII examinations compared to the national average indicate that academically, substantial numbers of Manipuri students are mediocre and they expect the invigilators to be sympathetic and come to their rescue by allowing use of unfair means.