Be it primary or college students, everyone is tired of writing exams in India . From Class I to PhD, sitting for an exam is compulsory for everyone in India. Be it for jobs, school promotions or passing college, the exam is mandatory in India.
But, there’s one country in the world where there is no homework, no GPAs and no exams! Can you believe that?
Well, this might sound impossible, but it is true. The country is none other than Finland, the happiest country in the world. In Finland, there are no mandated standardized tests. There are no rankings, no comparisons, no competitions, apart from one exam at the end of students’ senior year in high school.
Their only exception is the National Matriculation Exam, which is also a voluntary test for students at the end of upper-secondary school.
Despite no exams and GPAs, Finland is known for the best school education in the world, far better than the US, UK and other European countries. Instead of pitting students against each other in a competitive race for grades, Finland believes in encouraging students to be creative.
What’s more interesting is children in Finland start formal schooling only after they turn 7. They do not sit for any assessment test until they are 16.
During primary schooling, their teachers focus on the student’s health, and mental well-being instead of forced learning, memorizing and hard homework. However, in India, we are particularly focused entirely on grades and percentages. Here, the board exams after Class 10 and Class 12 are very important milestones.
A few months back, a 6-year-old girl Mahiru Irfan from Kashmir had appealed to PM Modi to reduce online homework so that kids get time to play as well.
Similarly, a student had alleged how he had to carry a bag full of books to school every day. So, what are your thoughts on that? Should Indian education also be moulded to encourage a student’s creative impetus?