Exams

A - Introduction of competitive and entrance exam.

Competitive exams sit at the core of the Indian higher education system. A competitive examination is an examination where candidates are ranked according to their grades. If the examination is open for positions, then the first candidates in ranks pass, the others are rejected. These exams are useful as they grade you on the basis of your performance as compared to that of others in your region/country. Competitive examinations are used in many countries for university and college admissions or admissions to secondary schools. They are considered an egalitarian way of choosing worthy applicants without risking influence, peddling, favoritism or other concerns.

In India, entrance examinations are chiefly confined to medicine, engineering, management, fashion, law and the civil services. These range from the BITS Pilani admission test and IIT-JEE where only one in a hundred can hope to get admission to state level entrances which are many and varied. The stiff competition has led to a situation where many students neglect their school studies and focus solely on “entrance coaching” which is time-consuming and expensive. This has led many states to scrap the entrances and base admissions on the school leaving marks which in some cases unfortunately, are none too reliable. Experts point out that in a country where many different boards are present common entrances are essential, but application skills rather than cramming should be stressed on. Frequent changes in the pattern of examination are essential since sticking to a “standard text” or “standard pattern” alone will favour the coaching industry and the rote-learners.

B - Types of Exams