Open letter to those preparing for board and entrance exams

Dr Rijusmita Sarma

(The writer, a counselling Psychologist, is BAMS, M.Sc. Psychology, CCS, trained in Advanced RECBT, AEI, New York. This piece is written keeping in mind the immense psychological stress children go through before examinations. She can be reached at drrijusmita1010@gmail.co)

Hi friends, hope you are doing good. As you are preparing for your examinations, I felt the need to share something with you as it seemed to me that you are getting mixed messages. Often throughout the year, you have been said things like, "You must do good in the examinations and prove yourself and make us proud", "These are the decisive years of your life" and so on. And when you get stressed before examinations you are told, "Relax, marks and performances in examinations do not really matter" and to increase the confusion it is again followed by something like, "Try to do good the next time."

Aren't they not only contradictory but in extremes? Do you buy any of them?

Let's dissect-

Is it true that marks and performances in examinations don't really matter? If yes, why are there boards and councils that take the pain to conduct examinations, evaluate answer scripts and declare results? Why is precision expected out of them? Why do we even check and collect our mark sheets? Marks and performances do matter. But to what extent? And are they the only things that matter? What matters more are you and your mental health. An examination evaluates your competency in the questions asked in that particular question paper to be written in a particular environment. If the questions would have been different and you were to write that in a different environment isn't there a huge possibility that you would score something else in the same subject? Obviously yes!

So how can the performance in one examination evaluate your proficiency in the entire subject? And most importantly how can your result evaluate your competency and efficiency as a human being? Will it be rational to label yourself as a 'failure' based on a question paper and your performance in one examination? Let's not forget that the world has been gifted with many legends who have illuminated it with their brilliance but have failed in examinations. Sir Albert Einstein is the first name that comes to my mind in this context.

And can an examination actually be a decisive factor in our lives? We are all a mixture of numerous attributes like our values, behaviour, qualities, likes, dislikes, social responsibilities, just to name a few. So how can an examination evaluate all the aspects of the entire you?

If you have the desire and curiosity to learn, the zeal to make the best out of yourself and the hope that you will figure out a way, no examination in this world is powerful enough to kick you out of the ground.

Yes, the efforts we put into the preparation to appear in an examination contributes not only in refinement of our knowledge but also helps us build values like discipline, sincerity, hard work and self-restraint and to round off our skills of problem-solving, planning and time management, which can be immensely helpful to move closer to our long-term goals. Hence our efforts matter more than our results. So let's shift our focus to the former which is at present hugely on the latter. Once again I would like to repeat that it would be nice if you do well in your examinations but there is no reason it is an absolute must. It wouldn't feel great to fail in an examination but it is also not the end of the world. Even if you don't do well and meet up to your expectations, it doesn't make you a complete failure in life.

Your well-wisher and confidante (if you like it that way).