The Iron Gate "SLC" – My Experience

[dropcap size=”4″]D[/dropcap]awn had already broken, I could see many students all dressed up well, with a red tika on their forehead and their guardians escorting them, wishing them all the luck in the World. One morning, when I sat down to have a cup of coffee and turned on the radio, I came to realize that SLC exams had rolled on. Iron Gate, this is what laymen call the SLC. But these days the word “Iron Gate” is way out of relevance with SLC.

Eight years ago when I myself was taking SLC exams a boy from another school just entered the exam hall with a newspaper and put it on the invigilator’s desk. And as the bell rang the invigilator started his duty, not to run the exam with a cent percent decency and discipline but just to hide his face with the newspaper and pretend to be unaware of the fact that was happening. Once he had his face drowned with the newspaper almost everyone was busy taking out their cheats and copying the answers. I vividly remember a boy; he had his head turned back every single second. He was copying almost every answer from his friend. The invigilator was all aware of what was going on in the exam hall but all he could do was just hide his face under the newspaper and pretend that everything was going perfect and no unethical actions were happening.

People are just overrating SLC as Iron Gate. If SLC is an Iron Gate, other exams coming after SLC are Diamond Gates.

The same day I watched the news at 8pm after dinner and what I witnessed was horrific. The situation outside the valley was even worse. At a center in Terai, students were taking their exams by copying all the answers from guess papers. Teachers and invigilators themselves encouraged the students to copy the answers. There were parents and guardians who were helping their children to cheat in the exam. Parents were at the roofs of building throwing papers to their children.

 I wondered about the future of the country. Does achieving distinction marks is such an unethical way makes sense? How can a really hard working student be evaluated? Would a student be encouraged to study hard? At the time of SLC result, it’s the biggest hype. It’s like biggest milestone that the student can ever achieved in their life.

SLC is just as the other normal exams; in fact it is one of the easiest exams that I had ever appeared. People are just overrating the SLC as the Iron Gate. If SLC was an Iron Gate then, the other board exams coming after SLC are Diamond Gates, the hardest of all. It is just the beginning of the real test of becoming a successful person. May be due to the reason that it is the very first entry to deciding one’s career, people give SLC such a massive importance. People don’t understand the fact that SLC is just like normal exam. They don’t understand that by making students cheat and pass the exam doesn’t guide them towards a bright career. Not only SLC but every exam is crucial in deciding a career path for a student.

This guest post is written by Saugat Adhikari <[email protected]>. The cartoon taken from NepaliTimes.