An education into our ‘exam culture’

Malaysian mums and dads seem to have forgotten the difference between a good education and good results.

Three major things will happen at the end of next week – all public examinations will be over, students will be going wild everywhere in celebration and parents will wear worried faces for the next three months.

November and December have always been very stressful months for Malaysians – for students taking examinations and, more so, their parents.

While students will see it as a burden over and done with, parents will worry right until the results come out in three months’ time. I have always been amazed at the reaction of parents and their stress levels when their children are in a “public examination year”.

It is generally understandable if the examination is the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or Sijil Tinggi Perseko-lahan Malaysia (STPM), but recently I witnessed something that made me conclude that exams are meant more for parents and not the kids.

It’s a double public examination year for me with my daughter having taken the UPSR and her brother in the last leg of the SPM.

In any other family, the stress level would have been unbearable, but for us, it was just another year, Still, I must admit the kids did do a lot of studying.

What happened on the day that my daughter got her UPSR results was a real eye-opener for me.

When my son sat for his UPSR and PMR exams all those years ago, he went and collected the results himself and just called me on the phone to tell me how he did.

My daughter, however, begged one of us to be present and I, thinking it was time I played the role of a good father, agreed.

While all of her friends and their parents had gathered in the school since 10am, my girl and I were lazing at home till about 11am when one of her classmates called to say the results were about to be announced.

What happen next had me stunned, amazed and, frankly, embarrassed.

There were parents there armed with video cameras. They were shooting everything for posterity.

I know that we often take videos or pictures of our kids’ first steps, first concert at kindergarten or even first day at school but their first public exam results? That is taking the UPSR a little too far.

As if that were not enough, the school took it just as seriously as well, announcing the statistics for how well the school had done.

For every positive announcement, the children clapped, but it was the parents who were giving high fives and cheers. Some of the mothers even screamed out in delight when it was announced that this year was the school’s best achievement in the exam ever.

Then a member of the school authority (I really don’t know who was responsible and, bad parent that I am, I was not even sure who the lady making the announcement was) started calling out names and giving each of them their results.

Imagine the kind of pressure the children were put through as they went up one by one under the watchful eye of their schoolmates and their parents.

Every one of them was given a rousing cheer and clap. Halfway through, the announcer said: “As for the rest of you, you all got 5As.”

The remaining students jumped for joy as their parents hugged each other. The video cameras, I noticed failed to record any of this because the parents holding the equipment were also jumping up and down. A great moment lost forever.

At this juncture, I would like to state that my girl also got 5As, and that this is no sour-grapes story.

I just fail to understand why a Year Six examination is such a big deal. I am proud of what my girl achieved but I must also let her know that 5As for UPSR in real life means very little.

She achieved her 5As without any pressure from my wife or I, and that I think is the achievement.

If at the UPSR stage, parents come armed with video cameras, what will they bring when their sons or daughters go to get their SPM and STPM results? A shotgun?

Parents must not only manage their children’s expectations but also keep a proper perspective of examinations and results.

I am more upset that my daughter does not know what the capital of Brazil is than her not scoring full marks for any test because I believe education must be for life and not just for exams.

Why not?

A proper education that enriches young ones with knowledge is the most important function of schools but unfortunately our system fails such a test.
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