No second chance?

DHAKA University, once called the Oxford of the East, hardly makes headlines these days for its once “glorious faculty and academic excellence.” Now student politics, fights and the occasional brandishing of a gun make news. Then there is the other kind of news Dhaka University makes, more related to academics, but no less absurd. First, we heard of question paper leaks, then of only 2 students passing the admission exam for the English department and now the drama regarding the eligibility of sitting for exams. It seems that over and over again, we keep repeating the same mistakes -- trying to cure the symptoms and ignoring the cause. Our myopic view of the education system has led us to the three-day ultimatum given by protesting students to the authorities demanding that they too be given a second chance at taking the admission test.

Of course, arguments by both sides are valid and each has its supporters. The students say that they were told of the decision after the admission exams and since it was unfair for them to compete with older batches, they too should be given the chance. The authorities point out that to allow a second chance at admission creates unrest as students drop out to change courses and their decision will lead to an equal opportunity for all students. The students talk of fairness while the authorities talk of the need to abolish the coaching culture. But all the while, we tend to overlook the issues leading up to this.

Rasel, one of the students protesting the decision by DU authorities, says: “We were only told of this decision after the exam. I have never gone to a coaching centre, so is it not unfair to me that I had to sit for the exam along with previous batches but I will not be given a second chance?”

But only when he talks about the exam questions does he point to the true nature of our problem. He points out the absurdity of general knowledge questions, the answers to which one has to memorise within two months when the subject is never taught through school life. Now, no one can claim our education system to be good by any standard when getting a GPA 5 in SSC or HSC is still a combination of going to the right coaching centre and memorising as much of the text books as possible. And then, somehow one's eligibility to a university is dependent on answering questions which school does not prepare them for. Exhibits -- the poor performance in Bangla, lack of basic English proficiency and having to memorise all of current affairs issues to get a coveted seat.

The question arises, if we actually had a proper standardised graduation exam which we take to complete school life, why do we even need an admission exam? One does not need to sit for a separate exam for Princeton or Harvard after taking the SATs. Each university has its own standards and students are picked according to their qualification. For all the talk of abolishing the coaching-centre culture of our students, we seem to do very little to discourage it at the school level. So it is absurd to suddenly leave all these students, all with 'good' results in their SSCs and HSCs, suddenly stranded.

Now, I would probably be pointed to matters more urgent right now, to the fact that we simply do not have the capacity to accommodate the number of students we have. But if a higher education depends on merit, then why should someone be discounted for their age? And if this is an absolute necessity, did it have to be implemented right away? Rasel and other protestors who say, “we were not informed of the decision before taking the admission test. While we got less time for preparation, the previous year students got one year to compete with us,” are right. The information should have been made public before the exams.

While the situation is fast turning to a point where the first side to give in loses, our crumbly education system remains untouched. The issue at hand is important, and some form of conciliation should be afforded to the students who are protesting. But when this blows over, it is imperative that the percentile of GPA 5's does not sway us into thinking that as a nation we are getting more intelligent each day. As number of students increase, the universities cannot keep up. The majority will look towards public universities for their education and if a balance between merit and fairness is not struck, then the problem will remain and absurdity will follow absurdity.

The writer is Feature Writer, Lifestyle, The Daily Star.