We often forget
that grades are mere numbers
indicating a student�s cademic
achievements. Grades are
important, alright. But they don�t define us
Grades : Are they really important in primary education?
Kazi Mohua
As my only child turns a pre-schooler, fears of being in charge of ensuring a well-rounded education for him grips me. Will I alone be able to give him everything he deserves and needs in order to grow up to be an enlightened human being? Or will the continuous pressure of being repeatedly tested and evaluated in the primary years of his school crush his interests in learning at the very onset?
Remember the saying -- everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid? We live at a time when the most successful schooling systems around the world promote Learn to love, love to learn -- an approach that means children should feel the urge of learning, not the pressure of it. For example, Norway has one of the most effective education systems in the world and students there dont have to sit for formal exams for grades up to the seventh standard. They believe this is a period for the young minds to learn only, not to be formally tested.
However, Bangladesh, and unfortunately so, has for long adopted a system which tests every child from the very beginning of their academic life, and that too in a way which asks both a monkey and a fish to climb a tree to prove their skills. A child here has to sit for a public examination at a tiny age and go through an immense pressure of securing so-called good results. But what actually are the good results? Can they really judge ones educational standard?
We often forget that grades are mere numbers indicating a students academic achievements. Grades are important, alright. But they dont define us. What really defines us is the changes education brings in us. If someone achieves extraordinary results in the Primary Education Completion Examination (PECE) but they dont know how to show respect, love and care, the results mean little to nothing. And dont be surprised if later in their life they fail to pass a job interview or to become a person, both respected and loved by those around him.
The PECE at Class-V, the first public exam a child takes in Bangladesh, has drawn extensive criticisms for various reasons. The pressure of the exam inevitably makes the teaching-learning process exam-centric. Instead of learning, memorisation of the texts is emphasised. Dependency on private tutors increases and guidebooks replace the textbooks. In most cases, the examination becomes synonymous to tension and anxiety for students, parents and teachers alike.
Rounded education means more than just getting good grades. In our education system, how many of children get to be in touch with personalities who actually can motivate them? Only a few of them get the scopes to take part in different productive classroom activities like coming up with business ideas and selling products to their parents. Most children do not get the opportunity to work through their conflicting emotions and learn to resolve issues by themselves. We reward our children when they get good grades. But how many of us criticise them for not being the kind of persons theyre expected to be?
Sadly, we live in a society that apparently values only what can be measured. Exams are designed to encourage and prepare children for the real life challenges lying ahead. The importance of exams can in no way be undermined but the amount of competitiveness people associate with those is worth rethinking. Before sending our children to school, we, the parents, compare schools on the basis of the exam results they produce and pick the ones with the most impressive figures. We do the same even while forming an opinion on our education system as a whole.
Expectations, when merged with inspirations, always yield positive results. Those who achieve success will deservedly celebrate. But we should not forget those who couldnt achieve good grades. The students who pass this success line get relief for the time being. The media portrays them in a flamboyant manner, further aggravating the frustrations of the apparent low-achievers. Its high time that the media and parents stopped being so insensitive.
My question is -- what is the necessity of creating an over tested generation? Is it really important to create a pressure cooker situation for the children in schools? Pressures of homework, class work, political turmoil and question paper leaks already put them in a tight corner. As if these were not enough already, we put on them an extra burden -- exams. Together all these make an environment thats very harmful for the development of children. Educational psychologists too have repeatedly pointed out the adverse effects of test anxiety on the childrens mind. And its a truth universally acknowledged that people with disturbed childhoods mostly suffer tremendous hardships in their adulthoods as well.
A quality education is an all-round process. It cannot be achieved by focusing solely on subjects that can be examined in traditional ways. Meaningful narrative feedbacks can very well replace grades. It will help students understand what skills have or have not been developed and encourage them to strive further for mastering the underdeveloped skills. Such feedbacks can open whole new horizons of possibilities for the students and provide them with scopes for self-reflection and self-assessment. More emphasis should be given on moral and behavioural education rather than on evaluating textual knowledge. Learning should never be measured. Rather, it should be shared, discussed, evaluated and appreciated.
Bangladesh has a long way to go before its education system reaches an ideal standard. In the meantime, what the government needs to do is to pay more attention to the education sector.
The Education Policy 2010 has to be speedily implemented and for this, the government has to re-evaluate its priorities and make a better use of its limited resources. As a parent, I urge the policymakers and all other stakeholders to work on our education system. And the primary education can be the perfect launch pad for this. As for my fellow parents, lets not get bogged down by grades for theres a lot more beyond the grades that require our earnest attention.
The writer is a senior journalist of Independent Television
