The educational system [Archives:2006/933/Community]

Syed Rehan Ali
[email protected]
It is said a nation is strong when its educational system is strong. Education here does not involve scoring the highest marks in examinations. Nowadays, however, most students are in a race for the highest marks and they use illegal methods to obtain these scores. They may cheat or they may bribe their teachers with money or other sources they may have at their disposal to increase their overall marks. But despite these illegal means most students, especially those at the SSC and HSC levels, often make fatal mistakes that can cost them their grades:

– Number of Supplements Attached

Many students think that by increasing the amount of supplemental pages to their exam sheets they will be able to score better. They use tactics like skipping lines in between when writing; using wider margins on both sides of the page that decreases the amount written between theses two margins and necessitates more pages; others will write in large fonts. These measures put off the examiner and affect the final score. To avoid this, one must write in a medium sized, clear handwriting. Do not waste pages just so they can be attached as supplements, it only increases the weight of the copy -not your grade.

– The Use of Multicolored Pens

Never use red or green pens in the headings, as these two colors are used by examiners to check and indicate the marks obtained by the student. You are to use blue or black markers for this purpose.

– Headings That are Too Large or Too Small

Students should beware of using large headings which only waste space and of writing so small that it becomes barely readable. You headings should be in a comfortable and readable font size.

– Writing the Question Instead of the Question Number

I have observed some students (though not all) who write the whole question on their answer sheets. This is a waste of time and space. The student should simply write the number of the question and begin the answer.

– The Use of Colors

There are students who use extra colors in their copies, especially when denoting figures. You can use colors to indicate different aspects of your figures but please do not make it a rainbow.

– Writing comments and Requests on Answer Sheets

While checking HSC-II exam copies I observed written comments at the end of the answer sheets, in which students requested examiners to grant them passing marks because they were facing some domestic problems and could not prepare for the exams. This is unacceptable.

Being a teacher I suggest that you avoid at all costs these loathsome practices in your examinations.
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