As Malcolm said, “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today”. I would definitely agree with this quote. Education is one of the most powerful things in life and creates a social status. One can come up with many reasons to justify the need for education. But along with this when the question of inequality in education shoots up, we all might become speechless.
There is an emergence of inequality in education through various elements. But the most alarming one is through the entrance virus. People usually have a belief that entrance exams are conducted to select prospective students for admission. If the above belief is true one may call it ‘survival of the fittest’.
To be more specific, let us take an example : NEET ( National Eligibility cum Entrance Test ) – almost known to all the people in India. In 2019 around 1,24,000 students appeared for the exam from Tamilnadu , out of which 60,000 students cleared the paper. We have around 2000 seats in Government Colleges in Tamilnadu . Out of the remaining 58000 candidates, one who is an elite can join the private college even with the poor performance in NEET. But what would be the situation of a candidate from the middle class or lower class family with good performance ? ( Just below the cut off for government colleges ).
Do you think they can pay the fees charged by private colleges? Definitely it is unimaginable. Here we can see inequality bursting in. This inequality contradicts the purpose for which entrance exam exists.
Secondly growing competition and pressure of performance is turning students into victims of stress. They are forced to perform their best in Board exams as well as their entrance exams. But one cannot score well just with a good knowledge of school books as the standard of questions is beyond the NCERT portions. So it becomes mandatory for students to join coaching centres in order to excel in exams like NEET, JEE, etc… Would everyone be able to catch up with their exorbitant fees? But there are few people who topped those exams without any coaching centres. But once again they are just “ FEW ” ( Considered as few drops in the vast ocean ).
So again we are left with a confusion “ Does entrance exams give shape to inequality?" if not "what is its real purpose"?
Well-written one , entrance exams do instill a great burden on students , crumble them with pressure and act as discouraging factors in many cases . Nevertheless, many remain devoid of even performing well in them !!!
yes roshni. i have lotz of suggestions..but cant express it directly in my article i guess..
The woes of Exams...but then suggest other ways !!
Bravo! 👏👏