Examination system

The government has realized that our examination system has a great many faults that have
damaged the standard of education and made it difficult to judge a student's intelligence. It needs
great skills to prepare better examination papers, specially such question papers as cover the
whole syllabus and test the student's IQ.

Most paper setters are teachers or principals, selected usually on the basis of preferences. There's
no arrangement for training of paper setters. This affects the standard of examinations. The
government should make arrangements for training teachers for paper setting.

Questions are repeated in a sequence, and students come to know the topics which will be asked
in their examination. Guess papers, test papers and examination guides help the students.

Another problem is related to insufficient space in examination centres. Some examination halls
are very small and candidates sit so closely that it is not possible to stop copying; some
candidates even exchange answer sheets. Teachers from government schools are appointed to
examine. They do not do their duties properly because usually they are a dissatisfied lot working
on poor wages.

Paper marking is a sensitive process. It tells us about the IQ level of a student. So, it should be
transparent. It tells us how a student who got a better division is superior to the one who has
failed.

Unfair means are also big a cause of examination corruption. Use of money and influence is also
practised to secure good results. This damages the credibility of paper-marking.

As the number of candidates increases every year, the boards should arrange examinations
according to the number. lf we want to the system better, it is necessary to change the thinking of
everyone involved - students, teachers and parents.

FAQIHA ABBAS

Lahore