There is a question that always pops in my head when I am heading to my room to study. It baffles my mind, giving rise to perplexed thoughts about why I should even bother to study hard. I know I won’t even be in my own college when I’m giving my exams and I shall have the opportunity to freely copy from someone else as the invigilators at the government colleges are least concerned about any such thing. There is also little chance for some board inspector to drop by on a surprise inspection and notice the wrongdoings. What’s certain in all this is the bitter rivalry among the head checkers, the misconception of notes and the confused situation of the reliability of acing in subjects.

We are heading down two different roads where on each turn lies the dilemma of choosing which tutor to go to for if the final exam paper goes to the rival team’s examiners, they’ll deduct your marks even if your answers are correct, which brings down your grades from ‘A’ to ‘B’ or even ‘C’ and ‘D’.

In the two compulsory subjects of Urdu and English of intermediate exclusive of other subjects of science, arts and commerce there is a group of two teachers who hold resentful grudges and have strong rivalry against one another. The million dollar question that arises here is that if we learn from the notes provided by one teacher how many likely chances are there for our papers to go to that very checker who will examine the papers in accordance with those notes or if he or she belongs to the friendly groups of such examiners?

This is what has dragged the students of today towards frustration and dismay. Teachers who are considered guides for students are instead playing with their future, awarding rigorous punishments against no crimes committed by them. Why should the students be paying the price for the teachers’ competition of standards?

All we, the students can hope for, is for a day to eventually come when this heinous white collar crime will be unveiled and the guilty, who are tarnishing the noble teaching profession, would be brought to justice. But when this will happen leaves behind a big question mark. Let’s hope for the best and fight against the worst.

The writer is a college student.