Do marks affect success of life?

Recently we all went for a get-together, when someone asked that why one of the kids had not turned up and to that the kid's mother replied that he has Boards this year. Hearing this answer, all were satisfied and did not ask any further question. The word exams specially Boards has always been associated with something very difficult and life changing. Something that would determine your future. Performing in which well will be the first step towards success. Getting good marks will be a sure shot guarantee of entering into a renowned college. Fairing well in these exams will be a matter of prestige for the entire family and the school. There are so many things associated with this term  exams that it has become a meter to determine the capability of a kid. If he/she will be able to do something in life is highly associated with the exams by our society. But how much of that is actually true? Lets try to introspect.

It is highly true that prestigious colleges have kept cut offs and marks as their criteria for selecting students. Landing into a tier one college is highly associated with how much you score in your 10th, 12th and entrance. Good companies pick up students from reputed colleges and offer them good package, in short "Life is set" is what mostly students think.. This is one of the reasons why after covering the syllabus several times , the students still feel anxiety during exams. There study of the entire year for each subject is determined by those three hours of performance. Also the luck pays a major role, whether the student will remember what he studied or not,  when he is inside that pressure cooker i.e exam hall or forget due to nervousness. 

With a recent number of cases that have shocked people regarding students not being able to cope up with the pressure of exams and results, the situation is becoming critical. The fear of not being able to meet the so called expectations of the society is so challenging for these students that it  leads  to students ending up their lives sometimes! The student often give up when they feel dejected that they would not be able to get good results and fearing about their future, they take drastic steps.

The peer pressure and constant comparison of friends and relatives with someone who is extraordinarily bright, the threats by the parents, teachers etc. of what repercussions the student will face if he does not fair well ..this kind of approach is incorrect which leads to these shocking incidents. Instead, a positive approach of appreciating small successes during the journey of preparation, proper sleep, food, time management is more important. The student should not be treated by the teachers as if they are going to fight a  battle, failing in which destroy them forever...( Of course there are some students who have a carefree approach and should be monitored for a better preparation) but the parents and family should when to check and went to let go. Also the asking of marks by the friends and relatives should be discouraged as it brings in more pressure for the students. (Until the parents themselves  provide details about the marks of their kids).

A lot of coaching institutes and online learning platforms specially post covid have come into picture claiming to provide a solution.  to these issues of non understanding in class and special attention to weak subjects. They promise and advertise giving tall claims filling up their seats with a large amount of students and charging  high fees. They provide the data of the topper students giving high dreams to the students and their parents but are too professionals in reality. It is not that the students do not get to learn from these institutes, obviously practicing and giving some extra hours to any subject helps them to understand better.  But like any other business, the main focus of these institutes is to earn profits and make their institutes grow . These coaching institutes are having tough competitions with each other and in order to sustain, they fill their classes with a large number of students making it difficult for the students to ask personal doubts regarding the subject. Also due to large crowd of students no individual attention is given to the students..

Well, to be precise, have we ever thought the extent to which these marks affect anyone's life? There is no doubt about the fact that once you get good marks or may be you are a topper, your career and life is sorted. It is easy for you to choose the college of your choice and have a dream career, But the other side of the story is that these marks are not the sure short guarantee of goal achieved life. Once one gets into a job or enters into a corporate life, the professional life becomes more complex and struggling as there is huge competition there too.  The achievement of a person to a large extent is based on his ability and is not restricted to marks alone at all. In a race to win from others and have a successful life, student fail to understand their own talents and happiness. In today's competitive world of number game, a student has as to understand which career option is best suitable for him. There are students who even after getting their dream career are not able to handle them. Hence the career Options are not restricted to academics at all specially today's scenario. 

Some you tube content creators who could not get good grades in their school life are making more money than doctors or engineers (who were once toppers) at a very young age, a person who can cook very well can become a great chef through vocational training, a person  who is great in sports can make career in that and the list goes on and on. The fact is now, there are multiple career options as the world has become extremely small due to internet, which could not be even thought about, till some years ago. Even after performing not so well in their academics, people have achieved huge success in their professional fronts where few years down the line, no one even remembers the marks scored during exams. Students should be made to have a reality check which means- Though they should follow the age of tradition of working hard as a student and be goal oriented but that should not be restricted to getting marks only. It should be accompanied with enjoying this time of getting exposure to wide variety of knowledge, better understanding of subject to imply them in practical life further, nurturing their own talents  so that they can be ready for a back up plan in future and  living a contented life above all , without worrying about the future which is not in anyone's hands because it  does not make any difference how many numbers he/she gets in Math/Science...for that matter 😑as what counts is one's own accomplishments and smart work in life to be successful👍.