As lil’ children we all wished to go to this amazing, magical place adults used to call SCHOOL, where everything would be new, inspiring, enchanting……What we could not perceive at the time of our negligence and naivety was that the mystic world that seemed so magical and beautiful at the time would be the start of a horrible, scary and unpredictable rollercoaster which would rock us mentally and emotionally. All the charm of the first few years was lost as soon as the vicious and unfair cycle of examination started which shook us thoroughly and consumed our years of freedom and enjoyment. Especially as we neared our matriculation all of the luxuries and beauties of life were lost…….the summer vacations for which we yearned for…..the time of felicity and freedom(although they too comprised of loads of homework and were immediately followed by midterms)started reducing from three and a half months to mere 15 days! Our wonderful evenings were spent in the mounds of books, learning the tests and doing the homework……..Who would have thought that the lil’ child of 10 or 12 who should have been in the playground would be cramming in his study…….peeking out of the window sadly at the empty swings in the playground below. But this is not the end….this is the beginning….the beginning of a horrific and depressing tale….The child who got 5 stars in his school life now enters matriculation…WARY but HOPEFUL…WEARY yet OPTIMISTIC….TIRED yet READY…The moment he steps into the classroom tons of work greets him…the likes of which he has never seen before…he is scared but at the same time he is strong….he wants to do well…for his parents,for his family, for his wonderful teachers…but above all for himself…..he sets a target…..starts slaving away….kills his joy….reduces his leisure….in short does everything in his powers…..everything in his potential yet this is not enough….the first result appears…..he discovers that he is a little far from his goal….his is heartbroken….doesnot want to do anymore….but then looks at those around him….he tries again…gives it his best…but again its not sufficient….he is devastated his goals seem far away…but still there are some people who believe in him….for them he tries yet again….he doesnot want to see them disappointed…he goes for it again and achieves a little of what he desires…now he is happy but at the same time he is tired…and he wishes it was over….but no….its still a long way to go….still a lot more to suffer….

College starts…..this journey proves to be more difficult than anything he has ever faced and he is exhausted……he does not want to repeat the vicious cycle……he is disappointed, but he decides to give it one more try……but it’s a new place…..takes time to settle down……and all too soon…..exams are here………due to the constant mental trauma and the difficulties of the year. At this time he is psychologically disturbed….he is even medically unfit…..he is not ready……in a mental turmoil he gives the exams…….he does not satisfy even himself…… he nearly gives up now……..but he is again treated like a lil’ boy who falls in the playground……he is dusted, consoled, kissed and then sent back to the playground. But this time his injuries hurt more than ever……….but he has to go on………he starts all over again…….this is a lot more difficult………. But he does all he can…….he is satisfied with his papers…….THEN WHAT HAPPENS?......the result is declared and he finds that one of his papers……. It’s not been marked properly……the whole set has gone to some RALSTON (Fsc students would understand)……..now please answer this………who is responsible for this…….if some really disturbed child takes drastic measures who would be blamed? Would it only be the fault of that immature teenager?

These issues (which may be present anywhere else in the world) are highly alleviated in Pakistan. The problem lies with the crippled education system which has been destroyed due to nepotism, corruption, landlord system; bribery and inclusion of politics.Undeserving people are present at the top of the system. The kind of education we should have gotten as Muslims......well….it is nowhere to be found……when we think about the knowledge for which we had travel to CHINA ……well honestly…….this is not that education………is this education going to produce productive and fruitful individuals for the country? …..or Is it going to produce mentally crippled, physically and psychologically disabled individuals in the country who are further going to drag the society into depths of darkness and hinder in the path of stability and success…..The reason for the lack of progress and intellect in the country is this very education system which makes the people used to “unfairness”. Think of what help a degree is going to do which is given to a non-conceptual person who knows nothing but literally crammed everything for the test…  He did lots of hard work …..That’s accepted. But he wasted his energies on something useless, his efforts were in the wrong direction, his hard work gone was wasted… because this cramming is of no help to him…he would eventually forget it and then will use unfair means to retain a job for which he is not fit….On the other hand when viewed from other perspective another problem in the system is that the papers are not checked properly, fairly and carefully….. The measuring of answer books still persists. Pages are still counted,  the accuracy of answers is not tested…concepts are not weighed….checkers still do not read the paper and resultantly results are chaotic…..deserving students get below average marks, they are devastated …… there future is destroyed and undeserving ones acquire such a result that they think they can accomplish everything without doing anything. What the examiners do not realize is that the laziness of a minute can cost someone his future……so we need to change it…….And we need to change it now ……..because if this isn’t changed the future of many individuals and of Pakistan will remain DARK….
                                                                                                                                               _an affectee