Meaningless Achievement

In this world of cut-throat competition, people wish to live in fantasy and experience wonderful life with all luxuries. Not bad. Indeed, great thought pushes you to work harder. But this is not a fact. Generally, people don't like to read facts as these are bitter and tough to swallow.

My daughter was super excited when she saw her result. She is a student of Patna University, pursuing a BBA program from one of its affiliated colleges. I don't want to target the college, so I will not mention its name. Still, after a gap of a year, this incident compelled me to pen down my thoughts.

She secured a seven GPA in her first semester. As a mother, of course, I am happy with her performance. I have seen her struggle. She joined this college in September 2021 and, as a sincere student, was regular to her college.

A semester which is of six months here was of a year. The first semester exams were scheduled for August 2022. The first paper was on Principles of Management, and the questions in the paper were related to Nitrogen Gas. In the evening, when she returned home, I saw her upset. On inquiring, she told me about the question paper. I soothed her by saying that, University would look into this and come up with a solution, as the problem was of all the students pursuing a BBA program. 

Well, there wasn't any notification from the University about the wrong question. As days passed, she started worrying. It was reflected on her face. She lost interest in her regular pass time and became a soberer.

Well, this is not the purpose of writing. 

On receiving the result, she revealed her fears. She was afraid of failing. Along with this, she said that a boy was given special preference in the examination room. Invigilators on invigilation duty handed over answer sheets of another student, mobile phones, etc., to him so that he could write competent answers. He secured a nine GPA and was declared the topper.

My daughter said, you always wanted us to excel in life with honesty and trust. Even though in the examination hall, every student was cheating either from mobile phones or micro chits, she believed in her hard work. She remained dedicated and is very happy about securing a seven GPA. She assured me that she would give her best shot next semester.

I don't doubt my daughter, but my question is to the college management, those invigilators who remained insincere to their profession.

Exams are not just about passing and scoring well. They reflect your knowledge skills. The boy who was helped to secure a nine GPA must be from an elite family who could pressure the system and force it to follow the wrong practice.

Though I appreciated my daughter's sincerity, I could not convince myself. Nobody will praise her sincerity in the future, but the topper will always move in society with a high collar. He will be acclaimed and awarded for his performance which is baseless.

A similar incident could have happened to you in your life. What did you do? What was your reaction? 

I wanted to complain, but I knew it would only create a mess in my daughter's life. With this tussle in mind, I thought, let me share this with you all.