Examinations in the field of educations have
become a source of fear for the examine es, a yardstick of teacher’s efficiency
and also an essential part of the educational system. It has been repeatedly
emphasized that the system of examinations available in Pakistan is not
foolproof. The educationists have not been able to find a suitable alternative
to examinations the internal assessment system has not been free from
malpractices. Examinations m the fields of education are very important because
they determine the capability of the students as far as their intellectual
make-up is concerned.
The examine es suffer a lot from psychological
torture before the examinations, during the examination and after the
examinations. A day before the examinations is quite troublesome. The examines
think of questions and. dream of questions still they feel that they have not
been able to prepare properly for the examination. Everything seems to
disappear from his memory. In front of the examination hail, he is unnerved by
the suggestions of other students, some say that they have prepared all the
questions thoroughly; others think that certain questions are sure to be asked.
These types of remarks and suggestions make them lose their confidence. During
the examinations the eyes glance over the question paper hurriedly and if the
question paper happens to be difficult drops of perspiration glisten on the
forehead of the candidate. He looks here and there and asks for a glass of
water. On the other hand if the question paper happens to be easy the candidate
fails to decide which question he should do first. After the examination the
examine es remain completely dissatisfied with their own work and calculate
their marks almost daily. The more they think about the examinations the more
nervous do they become. As the Judgment day comes and the result it out, very
few seem to be happy. Some complain of securing very low marks, others remain
dissatisfied.
It is some-what ridiculous to test the intelligence
of the examine es within a period of three hours. There is a possibility that an
examine e has read so much that he may not be able to digest the material and
present it cogently. In this manner it is generally felt that the examination
is not a true test of the intelligence of a candidate. More over the system of marking
is not fool-proof. In other words it is not possible to be as objective in
assessment as it is supposed to be; in many cases the examiners are different,
so standard of marking is also somewhat different. Another defect in the
present system of examinations is that the candidates totally depend upon the
whim of the paper setter. It is left to the discretion of the paper setter to
make a choice of the various questions from the prescribed syllabus. All of
these factors go against impartiality which is supposed to be very important in
education. The system of examinations should be overhauled because without
changes we may not develop the ailments of the students. Now a day’s greater
emphasis is laid upon mugging up facts without co-relating them with the
practical life. This simply means that the system of education is divorced from
the day-today problems of life. The candidates should be given ample time to
answer questions exhaustively and a general level of intelligence should be
determined by some objective method. It has also been proposed that there
should be open book system as far as examinations are concerned, it is based
upon the presumption that only those who know the subject will able to answer
the questions properly, and others cannot. Similarly another suggestion
regarding the reforms in the examinations system is to have spaced assessment
of the candidate. It is pursuance of this suggestion that semester system was
introduced in some of the universities of Pakistan. But these reforms have not
been able to work properly and it is still to be seen, when other reforms
brought about in the system of examinations.