Essay on the Topic Examinations | Best Essay 500+ Words

 

Essay on Examinations

"Trials are a veritable curse", said Jesus Christ, and so they have proved to the majority of scholars who are afraid of sitting in the examination. Examinations are regarded as the only means of measuring the physical and mental proficiency of a person. They are often denounced as a bad system. But they have their advantages and critics have never been able to introduce an alternative system to evaluate the educational achievement of a person. Let us examine points for and against them.

This system of examination was designed by Lord Macaulay who wanted to produce clerks for the East India Company. According to the present system of examinations, students have to pass examinations for promotion to the next class. Degrees are awarded only after judging the knowledge and intelligence of the candidates Our Federal, as well as Provincial Governments, have set up Public Service Commissions to test the ability of the candidates for employment as bureaucrats.

Here are some merits of examinations. The examination is a milestone on the road of knowledge. Examinations inculcate the spin of hard work. They provide a stimulus for the student to work systematically, honestly, and diligently. They promote healthy competition amongst the examines. They prove helpful in selecting the right man for the right job. The selection is fair because the macers are marked objectively. 

The examination is useful as a periodic test of the scholar's academic achievement. It judges the recapitulation of a student at a short notice. It is the only machinery for gifting out the different kinds of degrees of the capacity of the nation. But examinations are necessary evils also. Our present system of examinations encourages cramming which nips all the creative qualities of a student in the bud and blunts the edge of intellect. The students mug up cheap notes near the examination and vomit them out on the answer book. 

They only retain hazy notions of the subject matter. Moreover, the moral aspect is ignored in the examinations. The examination is a game of chance. A scholar who has been burning the midnight oil all year round may fall ill just before or during the examination and fail. Another lucky fellow commits to memory certain chapters, the questions happen to set from that portion. As a result, he secures a good grade. Again, different examiners have different angles of vision. 

Hence the standard of marking cannot be uniform. It is a well-known saying that examinations are not a true test of one's ability. Einstein, the greatest scientist of the 20th century, got plucked in Mathematics. Newton scored a poor third division in his M.A. in Mathematics Stalin and Hitler have been simple Matriculates. Hafeez Jallandhry had received formal education up to class VIL Maulana Maududi had not passed any examination at all. Allama Iqbal, the philosopher-poet, got 3rd division in his MA (Philosophy). 

Yet who will deny that they have proved superior to their contemporaries To wind up the discussion, I think the present system of examination should be replaced by a comprehensive new system, in which class discussion, weekly assignment, monthly tests, aptitude tests, participation in co-curricular activities, original thinking, research work, and written test should form part of the examination. Some marks should be allotted to personality, behavior, and good moral.