Examination Time!!

An Exam (abrev), short or Examination, can be defined as a "set of questions or exercises evaluating skill or knowledge administered to students at the end of a course of training." Alternatively, it can also be defined as a "royal pain in the a**." Over the course of the evolution of education, academia has always found ways to penalize those incessant few, who year after year, keep coming back to face the challenges of local education systems across the world. Whether it be by the means of the imposition of having to balance 3.79 kg textbooks on ones knuckles or by the means of journals and journals of entires, diagrams, graphs and charts to derive equations, hypothesis and formulae that mathamaticians, scientists, economists and the like have conquered centuries ago. Yes, the true formula to success - examinations.

As much as we students try to hide from, delay, avoid or run away from these Draconian systems of academic evaluation, exams are a big part of all our lives. Whether it be in the form of pop-quizzes, papers, assignments, class assessment, semester examinations or then the ever famous final University examinations. Exams are not only a large part of every student's life, but also the lives of his family.

The reason for this:? As the years go by, news statistics show that an alarmingly high number of students take to committing suicide during periods of exams. Often, the paramounting academic pressure that students go through is emmense. Along with the same, the physical and mental stress that students undergo as a result of contorted sleep patterns, inconsistent dietry habits and overall unhealthy lifestyles only ads to the mess. Peer pressure and competitive rivalry are only catalysts to the fatal combination. The stress levels often encourage these students to commit acts they otherwise wouldn't. Dunking, cheating and copying and the like have become occurances of the dozen. What is frightening, is the escapist measures that students resort to as a means of self-denial.

And hence, the saga drives itself into the families of the candidates as well. Parents, siblings, often even grandparents involving themselves in the examination process. Some, taking leave from work. Others, showing their support in less obvious ways such as preparing favourite foods and deserts! Each one has the constant need to extend their arms and their two bits of advice in an attempt to pre-facilitate the the examination process.

Why are exams so important in this day and age? The big 'R' seems to be hitting the world around us. Job stability is a biblical myth. Jobs itself, are sparse to come by. And what is it that we all are looking for tomorrow? That's right; Jobs. Not Steve Jobs, just jobs - generally. If we haven't reached the stage in our lives where we are preparing ourselves for the corporate world, we seek further education. And what is the single barrier that prohibits the actualization of either of these dreams of ours? 55 million other kids, just like us, dreaming the same dream.
The population of our beloved, today, has overtaken the crow droppings on my nrigh our's 1917 vintage Cadillac. Competition today, is merely a factor of this population. The more the number of kids, the slimmer the chances. It's simple math! Probability.

And hence the saga of competition arrives. Survival of the fittest. Standing out in the crowd. Who doesn't want an IIM sweatshirt in their closet? Who doesn't want to start out at PWC? Who wants to be sitting home, jobless, writing blogs like me?

Like every other circle in life, the circle of examinations too, completes itself from where it started. You want the job? Let's see your cards. You want admission? Put the cards on the table. And if you don't have any, please don't bother wasting your time.

Whatever the routine, whatever the process, exams are here and so is the stress. So pretending to study to the wee hours of the morning doesn't get you that IIM. Nor does suicide. It's just plain geekyness, effort and dedication that gets you there, that helps you slog, mug and vomit. For that's what exams are today. That's what exams need today! You don't need to think? There's a reason India is the most populated country in the world today. All we know how to do is reproduce. So let's kick it this summer, so we can see ourselves in favouable positions in the days to come.

(Overheard in class: Welcome to the EPL. The Exam Premier League. 2 teams. 6 matches. 16 days. 1 venue. BMS Knight Readers versus the Mumbai University Indians. Catch the action live from April 20th! No highlights - hopefully).