THE Punjab Education Department failed to conduct the board examination for Class V this year. This resulted in great mental suffering for kids and their parents.

It is beyond logic why it is necessary to conduct centralised examinations for students of Class V or Class VIII. The students of these classes should be examined by their respective schools. This level of education does not matter in their life as they cannot qualify for any significant jobs with this qualification. They should not even be declared failed in these classes even if they do not fare well at this level. They will at least be literate without the stigma of having failed an examination.

The real test and competition should start from Class X . This is what it used to be in the earlier years after independence. The British didn’t do this. It is our lawmakers who experiment with different ideas without having an iota of sense and then drop the innovation after failing miserably. The common man here is always treated as guinea pigs.

Anis Ahmad

Lahore

Published in Dawn March 4th , 2015

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