Editor’s note – The author makes a satirical analogy of the education system and explains how our education system is a breeding ground for negative mental health and tendencies.
Author’s note – I was highly disturbed by the hullabaloo created by the declaration of the CBSE 12th Boards results this year, more so because the madness seems to be on the rise each year. This article explains my personal sentiment towards the examination system of India, and how undue importance given to marks and results affects the mind of a student.
After a lot of reasoning and deliberation, I have finally come to the conclusion that ‘marks’ is the tool that can trigger Bipolar disorder in the best of us, a disorder that remains dormant under normal circumstances. For those of you who are not aware of what Bipolar is, in Wikipedia’s terms – “Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or more depressive episodes”
Not too long ago, we got our 12th CBSE board results. The words ‘result’ and ‘boards’ are like two opponents in a ping pong match, and a student is the ball that they play with. The student is shoved, hit, banged, pushed and thrown from one side to the other, until he or she is completely dented or worse, crushed. The match begins long before the result comes out actually. I’d say it begins at least a week before. The result day is the climax. No matter who wins, ‘result’ or ‘board’, the ball is left worn out. Always.
So, coming back to the bipolar disorder, it gets activated almost instantly after the results are declared. Consider students X and Y. Student X has scored 90%. Initially, Student X is ecstatic about her results. She jumps and claps her hands with joy. This stage would be called as the ‘initial mania’. After a while, her parents enter and see the result. They are not happy. Noticing the crestfallen expression on their faces, Student X’s joyride comes to an end and her happiness dissolves into nothingness. Thus, begins the stage of depression. Later, she compares her results with those of her friends and realizes that she has topped them all. She comes happy again. When the cut-off list is released and she doesn’t fit in anywhere, she becomes sad again. And so, the cycle continues.
Coming to Student Y. He has scored 80%. Initially, he is extremely disappointed and so are his parents. He sulks and mopes around for a long while. His state almost touches ‘acute depression’. But then he decides to change his path and pursue a course that doesn’t require a high score. The thought relieves him, and he comes out of his depressive state. But after further research, he realizes that the course is not well reputed and does not fetch a good job package. He slips into depression again. Hence, his behaviour falls into a pattern too.
The mood of a person experiencing Bipolar disorder can be perfectly explained by the diagram of Sine or Cosine. This was to explain my theory to the recently disease-struck students who need everything to be explained to them in terms of commerce, science or math.
Anyway, so my point is that our system is not only churning out robots (or donkeys, same thing), it is also a breeding ground for one of the most widespread psychological disorders in the world. Ideally, a trigger such as ‘marks’ should be eradicated completely for the greater good for the society. Why? Because people in their manic or depressive stages are capable of anything – suicide, murder, theft, rape and destruction. So in few words, if the system of marks is not eliminated, then our system would produce murderers, rapists, molesters and thieves. In fact, the most dangerous criminals in India are those who have gone through our education system.
This may sound far-fetched, but our system dents the psychological balance of the students that is essentially responsible for keeping them sane. Once it is dented, the students lose control over their sanity and the ability to be rational.
Lastly, I just want to warn every student out there who is still a part of the system – Beware. Your mind is being played with. Before it is butchered and tarnished, save it. You have less than a year.