MANAGING MARCH MANIA

MANAGING MARCH MANIA… (1)

MARCH… It is indeed a month of Stress to many… the month of examinations... for students, teachers, parents, the Boards…. Beating the examination stress.

The wage earners… to pay their taxed before 31^st March…

To the Income tax department ... to collect the taxes and meeting their recoveries...

The Bankers… as the Annual Financial year of the Government ends... to get their records straight.

To the corporate managers... To ensure good returns indicated their annual QY reports...

Who doesn’t have stress in March… one could find a maniac behaviour in several fields ... come March...

And me... Being associated with the conduct of examinations over 15 years... I have several stories to write... in terms of experiences... in terms of human follies... the stories of unrealistic dreams… every year it has been a personal examination to me managing the examinations at one level...

I thought those wonderful experiences... stories... anecdotes would just vanish into lost memories if they are not on record... hence decided to dedicate this month filling my blogs everyday with a story related to examinations... When I say stories, they are real, but only with fictitious names and places so that it doesn’t create heartburns to anyone…

Principals, educators, friends… enjoy reading…

March 2…

I woke up and walked into the pooja room looking at the pictures of each and every God and Goddess with a personal prayer that everything should go well... Examinations of this year must move on smoothly and safely... (You may ask “How does it matter to you? After all, it is not your personal work, it is a collective departmental exercise?” True... But when you associate with a work passionately, when you realize the lives of several lakhs of students are at stake, when your heart goes out to those praying parents, you own up your responsibility as a part of the team!)

And I didn’t disappoint any God hanging on the walls of my pooja room... it was indeed a personal request...

A job well begun is half done... if the first day of exam goes well, you could heave a sigh of relief with the hope that you can manage the rest…

Just finished my brushing and sat with a cup of tea... the telephone started ringing…

“Bala sir... Good Morning... Sorry to disturb you at this early hour...”

“Good Morning, doesn’t matter ... go ahead...”

“I am Girija.Principal… from…”

“yes...”

“I am in a crisis... you only should help...”

“Yes, tell me…”

“Sir... just fifteen minutes before a girl called me up and said that in her admit card the subject for today’s examination is printed as English course – A, whereas she has been studying course B”

“Why did she or the school not checkup earlier?”

“Sir, I checked up immediately. It is not her mistake... it is the school’s mistake... We offer only course B and not course A... as such I think the office has made a wrong entry in the forms that were filled in...”

“Office…? But then no body checked?”

“yes... there has been a mistake at every level... no body including my examination in charge did not check it up...I thought every thing has been properly checked…I am worried... what would happen to these children?”

“How many students?”

“In all sixty-two students?”

“Where is the exam center?”

The exam center was in a place at least 20 kms away from the nearest city… There were no other students in the center who were writing English Course B...

The principal was pleading, almost breaking down... “How do I meet the parents Sir? They would indeed kill me if their children don’t take up the examinations.”

And there starts your stress… There is a problem... How do you find a solution...?

And you are left with hardly any time ...next three hours…you look back at the pictures of the Gods 

and Goddess in the pooja room with a question…” Hey... who among you is going to come and help?’

Mistakes happen at many places and at all possible levels... Blame games can always start... but then the real issue is... how do the children sit on time for the examinations...

Well, you put all your resources at work, mobilize all available support... and then the students go to the examination hall...They have their right papers organized... The examinations go on smoothly. 

You heave a sigh of relief... a couple of thanks from the Principal...

And then... the next morning... the local news paper carries a headline... “The examination center receives wrong question papers. Students under stress...”

No denial from the school... No one to put across to the media where has been the real problem...

Doesn’t matter... Sometimes you carry the burden of sins of others... a part of the life game... a part of the stress associated with the examination... and believe me, I realized... March has started…

(Continued...)