The all-important exam

Passing school final exams is considered the first major test in the academic career of a student in almost all countries. In Bangladesh, it's like achieving an academic milestone. In the past, passing the entrance or matriculation would mark an end of the student life of many post-teenage youths. A certificate of this important examination was tolerably enough for a youth to land a petty job. Further studies to achieve an Intermediate, a Bachelors or a Masters degree remained a utopian dream to them. It was because success in those exams required even the above-average students to study hard. This scenario has changed radically. Passing the SSC (Secondary School Certificate) exams with the grading of GPA Golden A+, GPA 5 (A--) or GPA-4 is now part of a system where students are required to answer  both MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) and creative questions. With the GPA Golden A+ enjoying a stellar position, the GPA (A--) stands for average students. In the new system, the percentage of passes has increased manifold in every part of the country. The career of students becomes challenging after the SSC level, with the start of the phase of higher secondary course.

 This year's SSC exams began in the country on April 30, with over two million students from 11 educational boards appearing at the exams. A total of 3, 818 centres across the country are in charge of conducting the school final.

As seen elsewhere in the country, the SSC exam is the basic gateway to college or university-level studies in Bangladesh. No matter how brilliant a student is, he or she cannot enroll in the higher-level institutions unless they can produce their SSC certificates with at least GPA-4 score. An above-average student, miserably weak in English or Mathematics and unable to score even an average grade cannot cross the SSC bar. However, such students' complete failure to reach the college level is rare. The rural or lower-middle class parents watching a son or a daughter go to a college after passing the school final cannot be compared to any other feelings of theirs. These are their moments of joy and pride. For many of them, the very thought of their offspring passing out of school and entering college can be compared to the one of conquest. The highly caring or better-off families' goal lies elsewhere. They try their best to see their offspring get admitted to reputed colleges. All of these parents agree to one point: SSC examination is the most critical test in order to get elevated to the higher academic classes.

To the great relief of conscious parents, teachers and social observers, the school final examinations could at last be made cheating-free, at least for now. Thanks to the different types of questions and the methods of answers now in practice, blatant cheating in the exams might prove highly difficult. What will happen in the future is anybody's guess. However, with the system of the MCQ questions being an integral part of the SSC and HSC exams, there are few scopes for the return of unfair means as seen in the past.

As has been observed, it is through the first major examination at the end of school life that a boy or a girl comes of age. The minimum age for appearing at the school final exams is 16. Students reach 17 as they enroll in colleges. The first taste of freedom of movement and thoughts and inquisitiveness, the initial propensity to rebel and reject grows within them at the post-SSC stage. Pragmatic parents and guardians remain prepared for the inevitable changes in their previously submissive kids. The mercurial ones fail to cope with this situation involving their children who wait in excitement at the doorstep of a new world. Proper guidance works wonders in this critical situation.

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