Proma Dutta Nijhum, a science student of Khairullah Government Girls High School in Mymensingh town, ended her life immediately after receiving her SSC examination results. She achieved a 4.67 GPA (grade point average) but had hoped for a GPA-5 in the exam. No doubt, it is a good result. But for Nijhum, it was disgraceful. She was the daughter of a senior school teacher and might have put some extra pressure on herself for getting a GPA-5. When it did not happen, she drank antiseptic liquid, Savlon, and killed herself. Nijhum was not the first person, who committed suicide for not securing her expected results. Every year when SSC exam results are published, we come across a number of such tragic incidents.
Many of them attempt suicide for failing in the public exams. But why can't a good grade like 4.67 meet one's expectation? Has the society cultivated a culture of obtaining GPA-5, which is leading young students to commit suicide? The recent trend of student suicides following public exam results is alarming. It is no longer enough to just pass in the board exams. Everyone now wants to achieve the best possible grades. For many, failing to achieve this is making life not worth living. When students average 80 per cent in their scores it is called GPA-5 or A+. It is the best result available in the SSC exams in our country. But for a lot of people, that is not enough.
In 2001, when grading system was introduced, only 76 examinees got GPA-5. However, the number of GPA-5 holders is increasing every year. And this year it is 269,602, which is the highest ever recorded in Bangladesh. It is encouraging to see that the students are doing very well in their studies, but it also raises a frequently-asked question, "Do so many of them deserve GPA-5 or is it being handed out to them?" Having around 270,000 GPA-5 achievers, scoring 98 or 99 out of 100, and even 200 out of 200 in theory-based subjects like Bangla does not seem normal.
All this should make us think whether our teachers are instructed or forced to increase the scores of students' answer scripts. Teachers, allegedly, are under pressure for the past several years to ensure that the (exam) papers they grade do not get poor marks. And they need to hand out marks leniently. If such is the case, getting a GPA-5 is not hard to get one. After receiving these inflated grades, students naturally start overestimating their abilities and grow high expectation of securing A+ or A+ in all subjects. So, school and college students nowadays are also under psychological pressure to achieve a GPA-5. In any case, if they fail to do so, they cannot control themselves and take such suicidal decisions.
Undoubtedly, Bangladesh has come a long way in the education sector. But it has not yet reached a place where every student will pass or obtain a GPA-5 in public examinations. While it can be unpleasant, failure is a normal part of the learning process. In school and life, setbacks happen. When they do, they also present opportunities to try something different the next time. So, failure is as important as passing. But this is one lesson that the educational institutions are not interested to impart. Also, society does not stand by the students who come out unsuccessful in exams.
As a student, one must remember that he or she cannot always pass but they can certainly learn through their mistakes. One failure or one GPA-5 cannot define a student's future. The students need to keep in mind, as told by Nelson Mandela, 'the greatest glory in living is not in falling, but in rising every time we fall'.
