A curse

"We are thrown in this world without any rime or reason"-A french philosopher based the whole philosophy of existentialism on this thought. People have always been probing into the query why are
into this world which is so full of weariness, fever and fret. And we have examinations to add to this weariness .
Examinations are a curse !Well, most students regard examinations as a curse, and in a sense they are a curse.The approach of examinations brings along horrible past memmories of sleepless nights and anxiety.
It also means the beggining of fear in the mind of a student,and the fear is at its height when the examination is about to commence.The examinations and the results are the only worry of the student, their only anxiety;examinations are like a sour lemon in a basketfull of sweetlimes because they are the only unpleasant experience in a otherwise happy and carefree life.The bugbear of an examination interrupts
the smoot course of a students life.Games,musical concerts ,debates and other extra curriclar activities are all stopped for some time as studens get busy for examination preparations. Students are not to be found in college corridors, lawn, cinema houses,restaurants and other places of entertainment.
"O solitude! where are the charms
that eager have seen in thy face?
Better dwell in the midst of alarms
than reign in this horrible place."
are William Cowpers words which I say to myself when I find no one around during the examination days.
Some students do regard examinations to be spur to effort,or an incentive to work.They believe examinations are held to test a students ability,to check up the work they have done during the term, to judge what progress they have made and to determine whether they have been utilising or wasting their time.If there were no examinations,the merits of the various students could not be judjed,nor would the majority of students take any interest in their studies.They think that all these things combine to urge a student to hardwork.
On the other hand ,I believe examination are not a relaible test of the ability of students.A student may memorise cartain portions of the text and if a question is set from the portions he has prepared ,he will no doubt secure good marks,while another student, brighter and more intelligent than the first ,may not show good results because he did not specially prepare the questions which were set in the examination.Similarly it may be said that the standard of marking all papers is not the same,because different examiners mark differrent papers in different moods.Most educationists now agree that a simple crucial examination is certainly no test of ability;they therefore insist upon a series of tests of knowledge and intelligence over a period of a few years.The argument has no doubt a great deal of truth in it but on the whole it may be said that the good students do not usually show bad results and that negligent students donot usually pass.
It is however undeniable, that examinations do exert an unusual strain upon the minds of students who lose all their zest for life at the commencement of an examination.The reason for all this is that throughout the term the students have paid little heed to their studies so when a test is near they have to concentrate all their energis upon their books.The best way to keep a watch on the students' labour and regularity is through practical series and internal assesment. But in the long run even this has its drawbacks..........