Entrance Exams A.K.A. Do or Die
It is 7 AM. Ram, who usually wakes up post noon, is up and ready for the most important day of his life. No, it is not his wedding day or even his 18th birthday; he is to write JEE Advanced, which is an exam for admission to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), his dream institute. His performance in the exam will determine the kind of college he would attend. Ram is nervous. His four years of preparation could either pay off or lead to shame in his friend-circle. As he waits near the bike, for his father, he remembers his childhood when his father dropped him to cricket coaching every morning. Ram was a district-level cricketer but he has given up playing the sport he loves with the hope of one day studying in the prestigious IITs.
Ram’s emotions suddenly shift to a worry. Did he revise all the key topics being tested? Will the paper’s math section be hard? He hopes not; the difference of a few marks will decide whether he gets a course of his choice or if he will be forced into a branch of engineering he despises. He recollects the time he overheard his father telling his mother that if he doesn’t clear the exam, he’s dead to me. He doesn’t want to let his parents down. Even though he has never written a single line of code on a computer, he hopes to get admission for a Computer Science degree. Why? His seniors tell him that Computer Science is the only relevant field today and hears that these graduates start with annual salaries of 1 crore rupees while others are likely to earn only 10–15 lakh rupees annually.
Although Ram is a fictional character, I’m sure this story will resonate with most aspirants. Tens of lakhs of students across the country spend their teenage years in coaching classes, leaving behind their hobbies and passions in the hopes of scoring in the top 1 percentile of aspirants. Is this the right way to determine a student’s candidacy for the best institutes in the country?
The rationale behind any entrance exam is to test an applicant’s knowledge, attempting to eliminate candidates who are not proficient in Science and Mathematics. However, does one’s inorganic chemistry knowledge determine how good a computer science engineer he/ she will be? Does proficiency in high-school physics determine whether or not a person will be a good doctor? Unfortunately, no, entrance exams do not assess one’s interest in the future field of study.
Instead, these exams prioritize formulae-based learning rather than a thorough understanding of the fundamentals behind concepts. Conceptual application also ranks poorly in the system because students often manipulate their way through lab classes. Students are rarely, if ever, encouraged to go beyond the remit of the syllabus or to explore their interests in the lab. In fact, curiosity and enthusiasm is often discouraged in high-school environments. Exams like JEE Advanced test critical thinking to a certain extent, but “spoon-feeding” in coaching institutes has made the understanding folk as exceptions rather than the norm. From a strange, yet real, perspective, memorizing inorganic chemistry and formulae is considered more important for a student who wishes to pursue a course of choice, rather than a candidate who has an in-depth understanding of concepts but lacks rote-learning abilities.
Further, a student’s result in these exams depends on several factors other than performance. A perfect example of this is the percentile system of JEE Main and NEET exams. These tests are not standardized and hence resort to a percentile system of ranking candidates; this system would work well only if all candidates had the same paper. Unfortunately, JEE Mains is conducted 4 times a year from 2021, and each time there will be 6 to 8 different papers, making luck a large factor.
Another flaw in the examination systems is the sharp cut-offs. As there is fierce competition, losing a single mark can drop one’s rank by several hundreds and even thousands. Since cut-offs for courses are rank-based, and there are no other criteria for assessment, one mark can lead to the loss of chance for a student to study in his/her dream course or college. Does one less mark really indicate lower capabilities? Shouldn’t a person’s interest and consistent merit in a field of study be considered too, before granting admission and turning him/her away?
In addition to the hurdles within the system, forcing students to focus on acing these exams results in the total ignorance of holistic development of a student. Instead of spending their youth, building interests and a personality for themselves, students spend their days in coaching institutes listening to lectures and learning new concepts, and their nights solving hundreds of problems cementing the concepts they just learnt. The heavy exam-oriented approach of coaching classes undoubtedly helps students crack these exams but leave students vulnerable in other areas such as social skills, which actually help students in the long run and cannot be learnt at later stages in life. Colleges also fail to understand that this is the same system that causes poor interviewing abilities reflected in candidates during campus-hiring and future opportunities.
Coaching institutes often claim that this process helps students decide on their branch and in the right career choices. But wouldn’t it be better for students to spend their time exploring their interests and then deciding on their career goals, rather than solely relying on bland advice?
Undeniably, entrance exams have a negative psychological impact on students. Several students undergo stress, anxiety, and depression during their years of exam preparation. While some students come out as stronger individuals, others are not as fortunate. The pressure of performing well and the fear of failure, combined with self-loathing, result in mental health issues that have long-term effects. Adding to the stress is the fact that many of these exams are conducted only once a year; a headache or even a bad start to the morning of an exam can almost crush a student’s life. Recently, JEE revised its method to hold JEE Main examinations several times a year (albeit with a questionable ranking method). Hopefully, more exams follow suit with better ranking mechanisms.
Indeed, the system itself is not entirely to blame; society should shoulder a large portion of the blame for putting students with higher marks on a pedestal rather than encouraging actual learning. Board exams supposedly encourage all-round development, but parents and teachers undermine the importance of labs and projects. But can we tweak the system to encourage more project-based learning, helping students explore their interests and passions more effectively? I think you would echo the answer: YES.
This is the first of a 2 part series on entrance exams for Engineering and Medical colleges in India. Do look out for the 2nd part which will be published next week. All views are personal.
Edit Credits- Prajval S K
