Examination is indeed a vital component of school curriculum. It is generally aimed to test the overall learning behavior. But it is really very harrowing that many schools across India bombard students with exams. Students are preoccupied with exams and teachers are preoccupied with marking scripts. It is a stark reality that our system of education is completely obsessed with exams. It is high time we ponder upon the different pros and cons of our system of examination. Literally speaking, it does more harm than good.

Examination emerges out to be a threatening term among the student community. It causes mental stress to the students. Fear of exams makes many students in rural areas lose their interest in going to school or discontinue their studies resulting in increase in dropouts. Exams kill the spirit of learning. That is the reason why some countries have abolished exams in schools at the primary/secondary level. They do not focus on marks and grades but on the overall development of the students. They seem to have been completely influenced by Gandhian philosophy of education which talk about the all-round development of educands. In Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of education, Gandhiji had called education as 3R and 3H, by 3R – he meant Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, that is (knowledge of numbers)
3H – he meant Hand, Head, Heart (Education should be such that it must develop the child’s physical, mental and intellectual properties). Gandhiji considers man as the sum of the three-body, mind, and soul that they should be developed through education.
He converted 3R into 3H and the work of man or education is to develop not only 3R but hand, brain, and heart.
According to Gandhiji- “By education, I mean the all-round and best development of the body, mind and soul of the child and man.”
Finland is eulogized for having the best educational system in the world. Students do not have any formal examination there until they are sixteen. The Finnish education system promotes creativity and learner autonomy and does not encourage unhealthy competition among students.
If there is too much focus on exams and not on formative assessment, it will have a negative impact on students and society. Rote-learning will be legitimized. Students will be forced to go to coaching centres. More focus will be on coaching rather than on learning. Students will be ranked based on the marks they score in exams and this will result in causing mental stress to the students. Such education systems will kill students’ curiosity and creativity, giving rise to unproductive citizens in the future.
We often hear students ask, “How will learning this concept help me in my life?” or “Why do I need to know about this concept?” Although as teachers, we try to address these questions, sometimes even do not have a response for them. Most of the time, we end up telling students that learning these concepts will help them answer questions in the board examinations. However, this does not help students know how learning these concepts will benefit them outside school. Due to this, often our students feel that they are not learning essential skills that will help them progress in life.
Countries like Singapore, Finland, and New Zealand have now included life skills in their main curriculum. These classes help students learn skills such as leadership, communication, and finance management. Although the importance of teaching life skills has been identified in India, it has not been implemented in our schools.
Even after completing their schooling, our students often lack skills that will help them pursue jobs or advanced degrees. Life skill classes will help us equip them with the resources essential to engage with the world outside their schools. These classes can help students learn skills such as: how to file taxes, pay bills online or offline, or apply for important documents like Aadhar Card, Voter ID card, and passport. With these skills, students may face challenges when asked to take up basic responsibilities in the real world.
Currently, secondary schools mainly focus on preparing students for the board examinations. However, we must keep in mind that scoring well in the examinations cannot be ultimate goal for our students. Our education system needs to focus on preparing students in life. This will improve the quality of the workforce as freshers would join companies with skills that will enable them to perform well.

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