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Why marks will not determine your destiny

The good news for whoever reads this is that marks do not matter. And they never will. Let me reassure you with examples if you don’t believe me.

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Last week, a potential IIT alumnus based out of Kolkata scored 99.75% in his ISC exams. Closer to home, a girl from Navi Mumbai scored 99.25% in her ICSE exams. I took my Class XII examinations in 2000 and scored 49.83%.

The examiners did not even bother to give me that one mark to make my aggregate 50%. While it didn’t matter in 2000, students are made to believe that that one mark will be between life and death.

The good news for whoever reads this is that marks do not matter. And they never will. Let me reassure you with examples if you don’t believe me.

I studied in a Jesuit school in Mumbai and finished my SSC in 1998. At the time, three students outshone the rest of the troupe. We expected all of them to go abroad and do PhDs or become top executives. Only one of them did a PhD and continues to pursue pure research. The other is an account manager at TCS in New York, while the third ended up making films. 

Then came the ‘average students’. I fell in this category. I would score brilliantly in one paper and fail miserably in the other, much to the frustration of my teachers and some of my close friends. However, nobody knew what career path we would choose. Most of us ended up getting into engineering college, doing an MBA and working a regular job. Those who pursued commerce, finished off their BCom, worked for a while and either became chartered accountants or MBAs with a specialty in finance.

When it came to those who we thought would do horribly, given their marks, we would never have known. When I log into Facebook to check their status, most of them have settled abroad – mainly in London or in New Zealand or someplace exotic. One of my batchmates who would be a regular in the principal’s office has a motorbike modification unit somewhere in the city. He would probably be making more money every month than I do in a year.

Then let’s come to me. I did horribly in Class XII (Science), still decided to go ahead with a BSc in biochemistry, did well in graduation and messed up while doing a Masters (i.e. I got a low second class). Today, I’m happy and content as an assistant features editor with one of the leading media houses in the country. 

The best bit, nobody looked at my marks. 

Without trying to sound preachy, let me assure those worried students who have not scored over 95% in any exam (because suddenly 80 is the new 40), do not stress. You will get a job, you will do well and you will go places.
Secondly, remember that when you become parents in the next 10-15 years, the education field in India would have changed (hopefully for the better) and your children won’t have to worry on scoring that elusive 99%.
If none of this convinces you, watch Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year.

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