Students and Invigilators

The case reported a couple of days ago in the newspapers where a young girl appearing for her S.S.C. examinations committed suicide is shocking to say the least. There have been a spate of suicides across the country in exam related stress during the last one month, but the one I am talking about takes the cake.

The invigilators should understand that all students are not crooks, students do carry notes to study at the last minute. This student, Bhavi, was “caught” with the chits outside the classroom BEFORE the exams had started, hence taking a signed statement from the student saying that she was caught with chits is nothing less than outright high handedness. I hope the person who caught this girl would mete out the same treatment to his child in a similar situation. Children appearing for their first public exam are as it is under a high degree of stress due to peer pressure plus parental expectations. I can imagine the turmoil in a young mind trying to look friends in the eye and having the fear of going home and facing parents after making such a signed statement “accepting guilt”.

It is sad that a child at that age has to face such mental trauma, even though legally she is not guilty, which results in her taking her own life. The invigilator involved should be taken to task and charged with encouraging and abetting suicide if not with murder. Even though the person has not physically murdered the student – he definitely murdered the mind of the child, resulting in death through suicide!

We should take a re-look at our system of education and try and make it more student-friendly. The government is belatedly looking at various options to try and handle cases of cheating, attempted cheating with kid gloves. If nothing else, then at least the invigilators should be trained to treat kids with humanity so that they do not lose their self confidence to face life. Cheating in exams is no crime, the quality of people we have in Parliament is a telling comment on the state of our Nation – no reason for us to ostracize and humiliate the future generations of our country.