Editor,
A Master’s Degree or even Bachelor’s degree is considered prestigious in most countries. It is awarded to a student who possesses advanced theoretical knowledge, critical thinking and evaluation. As a student I feel the need to address a flaw in our education system which is the CUET or the Common University Entrance Test which is mandatory for admission to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Central Universities.
The entrance exam based on Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) type test does not reflect a student’s holistic knowledge or capacity. It’s more about mugging up factual objectives or dare I say, even luck! But, pursuing higher levels of education has nothing to do with trivia or luck but more about developing intellect, questioning narratives etc. This is truer in the case of students of the ARTS stream, especially students of Literature. Literature is a subject that involves writing and critical thinking skills which cannot be tested through MCQ tests as it promotes only rote memorisation. It eliminates the key thing in literature which is deeper understanding of the subject and developing the necessary skills for the respective field. Such exams take away the ability to think and form arguments as well as opinions and only encourage us to remember facts, nothing broader. For such subjects, essay writing or critical analysis should be the alternative form of tests because it will help the board of educators understand a student’s capacity instead of admitting students blindly.
It is upsetting that universities are putting importance only on CUET scores and ignoring the marks we earned during our under-graduate studies. For three years we have dived deep into theories, movements and literary ideologies, wrote essay type tests for our semester exams, secured first division only to be discarded and overtaken (forgive my bluntness) by students who secured second division in their Bachelors Degree. Shouldn’t universities prioritize our degree marks!?
There are many students who secured first division throughout their Bachelors; students who even secured positions in their degrees that are now discarded because of CUET. The CUET exam has taken away opportunities from many students who performed well during their bachelors. It is illogical, a sign of regressive society and a deliberate attempt to heighten the mindset of “memorisation equals knowledge”.
Secondly, the questions that are given are also useless. From being asked to arrange publications of novels in a chronological order to putting more focus on Sanskrit instead of English Literature! Then being asked to “arrange the Nobel Prize Laureates in order of receipt.” It does not in any way reflect the research acumen or even knowledge of theory. Considering that a Master’s Degree is a platform and opportunity to the path of Doctorate and beyond – we feel that as students we have been scammed; that a sound education system should desire only trivial knowledge from students as a qualification.
Moreover, if the entrance exam is to be of MCQ type to further levels of education then shouldn’t semester exams for both Bachelors and Masters also be of MCQ type? It would make more sense! That way we can all learn superficial facts that have nothing to do with the related subject at all, making it easier to bring down the already falling state of education in our country. It is a harsh truth that education is no longer connected to knowledge but to marks secured. The CUET exam is setting us back. The method of conducting entrance exams abroad is usually an essay type test, whereas here in our country the educational system is flawed since it calls for trivia and less knowledge or critical thinking.
Therefore, I dare to ask, where is this taking us in the future? If potential lecturers, professors are left out, who then would be our educators? It is absurd that for such an esteemed level of education we are not looking deeper into qualification or skills. In this day and age, technology can easily grant someone a degree, easily articulate what one cannot- It has come to my knowledge that many students pursuing Bachelors and even Master’s degrees turn to ChatGPT for their semester exams! These are your future lecturers! Your children’s possible teachers, the society’s “researchers”. We are angry and frustrated that our country has failed us in many ways. Blindly admitting students without proper evaluation shows lack of respect for a student’s field of study.
We do not mean, by this letter, to say that all students who have scored well in their CUET are unskilled or lack knowledge. But we only mean to address the reality of the greatest flaw in our society- that those who have secured first division, secured positions in their degree, those who could add to the research field are left stranded simply because three years of our bachelors no longer hold any worth before an MCQ entrance exam. Again, our knowledge has been reduced to memorizing superficial facts.
I urge our Education Minister to look into this matter, to weigh deeply the consequences and risks that our future holds and to think about the future of students before it is all too late.
“Rome was not built in a day but it fell in one” and I am afraid we have gotten to the falling part quicker than the building part.
Yours etc.,
A concerned student
Name withheld on request
Via email
Relocating hawkers must be Govt’s priority
Editor,
The need to relocate the hawkers is imperative. With the intervention of the Meghalaya High Court it is more likely that licensed hawkers in Khyndai Lad would have to shift to designated vending zones. Our footpaths, nooks and corners and roads have become makeshift or permanent trading spaces to the point of hijacking the right of pedestrians to the footpaths. While agreeing that every individual has the right to earn his/her livelihood to make a living to feed and support their family it is also true that no one has the right to impinge on the rights of others.
What started off as a handful of hawkers setting up shop on footpaths has now become a convenient trading point for a great many of them. Now it has become encroachment. Hawkers are trespassing and making it difficult for pedestrians who often have to rub shoulders with vehicles on the streets. Alas, if something had been done right from the start perhaps things would not have escalated to the point of making us who demand our rights to footpaths and road not be judged as being less humane and even lacking empathy.
A good start to ease the congestion at Khyndai Lad is to relocate hawkers. I had always been vocal about the need to find a designated space for them to trade freely without being disturbed or disturbing others just as I was equally apprehensive about utilising parking lots as vending zones. The ground reality is that the number of vehicles both four wheelers and two wheelers are on the rise every day. It is understandable that the more new vehicles are hitting the road the more the need for parking spaces. Yes, the state government has come up with chargeable on-street parking locations as an alternative. I am hopeful that this will help address the problem of parking spaces while also addressing traffic jams as our roads have remained very much the same in size.
To conclude, for the good of all the citizens of the town and visitors alike, hawking to the point of encroachment must be dealt with once and for all. I am hopeful that the State Government will also pay heed to the problems in several other areas of the town like Motphran, Laitumkhrah, Civil Hospital, Laban, etc that are going the Khyndai Lad way.
Yours etc.,
Jenniefer Dkhar,
Via email