Monday, December 29, 2008

exams at GEC, take a look

like every planned procedure, exams in education system demand a well planned execution which is expected to complete with minimum errors. if possible, none. and after going through such a process and being a part of it, i have lots of things to say about it.
i knew i had been assigned the task of supervision as i had signed the sheet with my name and date mentioned on it. the task being very first of its kind for me was enough for the thrill.
the princi, (principal) is a very responsible person in such sort of matters, he always has to be around. he is the guy whose presence powers the dim bulbs to lit enough and rectify the hazardous panicky bulbs so as not to get short circuited.
the exams have the very classical procedures like signing the answer sheets by supervisors and checking the identities of students and of course, not allowing them to cheat, who ? us ? yes, us means the education system here, you see, we lecturers represent a very large community that imparts education to next generation and thus we see ourselves as one who ... . .wait a minute... its not 'we'...i think...its me who sees the things this way, isn't it !
i still cant understand one thing though, the head of the institution communicates with students to instruct them about not taking mobile phones and bags near the exam hall, but why cant he yell at his own staff that when they are supervising, it is their responsibility that the student finishes his exam nicely. and i have seen a few instances where that yelling would prove good for the system itself.
contrary to my perception, a certain section of staff that even includes non teaching staff had no manners on how to even conduct an exam. what they were concerned about was just the 'remuneration' !!
what seemed to be languor was actually the laziness that creeps up every government employee as time goes. the tag of being a permanent staff of state government allows them to prioritise their own comfort compared to their duties.
here is a scene i still have in my mind. an exam hall is full with students with half time remaining, the well prepared ones are busy finishing one section and going to another. the paper was descriptive and lengthy. a student sitting far left stood up. his left side had no space to go through as the bench was laid touching the wall. so he requests the equally busy neighbour to stand up, he does, with pen held in hand in same angle as placed on bench while writing, as the student gets out of bench, the disturbed neighbour immediately sits and races his pen to finish the answer. the student who came out of the bench goes to centre stage, where the junior supervisor is already signing a supplementary answer sheet for him, the student waits for a second or so, then returns with his supplementary to his bench where his neighbour has just been able to finish a sentence, again he gets out, the other one gets in then he sits and then the other one sits.
all this to get a supplementary !!
and the junior supervisor sit on his chair to see all this !!
and 50% students turn up to get the supplementary ! count the total time wasted ! and take into account the number of times a student has to get up !!
still, the "chalta hai" works here. its sad. i cannot criticise or point out even a solution for anything like this, i am just showing you the real picture. i am concerned. i want to be the change. and my attempt to make you see the things is first step towards that change.
many times i want a student to shout aloud and claim his right to sit on his bench and finish his paper. but that never happens. i am a part of same system. but i try hard not become one of them... or better is, i have enough example of what not to become.