It is a season of exam results. Several boards have declared the results in the past few days. While results have bought immense happiness for few, for few others it has bought disappoint. Most often, children’s capability is completely gauged on the basis of the marks they get. If they fail to ‘perform well’ in their exams, people are quick to tag them as failures, subjecting them to taunts and jabs. Unable to handle such scrutiny at such a young age, some children tend to take the extreme step.  

On May 10, Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education (CGBSE), declared Board exam results, and there were many, who passed with flying colours, while few others could not. One such boy from Raigarh, disappointed with failing examination, committed suicide.

Saddened by constant news of child committing suicide, a 2009-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officer Awanish Kumar Sharan, who is currently posted as District Magistrate of Kabirdham district, Chhattisgarh, wrote a post on Facebook, sharing his own marks and asking students “not to get disheartened or hopeless” on getting poor results.

“Just A Number Game”

He wrote on Facebook “Today I read shocking news in the newspaper that one student committed suicide because of unexpected result in the exam. I appeal to all students and their parents not to take the result very seriously! It’s just a number game. You will get many more chances to prove your calibre.”

Not just advice, he also shared his own results, that he had obtained in his Metric, Intermediate and graduation examination. The IAS officer, who was a student of RB College, Dalsingsarai, Under Lalit Narayan Mithila University, secured 44.5% and 65% marks in Class 10 and 12 Board examination respectively and got 60.7% marks in his graduation Examinations. While talking to The New Indian Express, he said, “Today choices are unlimited, and opportunities will keep coming as long as the students endeavour to persist with their mission. Why let the school board result decide the future of a child. They should soon get over it as exam results are not the end of the world.”

Recently, another woman, Vandana Sufiya Katoch had posted a rather heartwarming post on similar lines. She said that she was proud of her son scoring 60%.

Katoch’s post received a lot of positive response from a lot of people, including many parents.

The world is full of opportunity

Awanish Kumar Sharan’s Facebook post clearly intended to help those, who are unable to clear (CGBSE) Board exam, and facing the wrath of family, or are depressed or hopeless about the future. The point of his post was to bring attention to the fact that no examination in the world has been designed to completely gauge a person’s worth.

Also Read: My Story: “Super Proud Of My Son Who Scored 60% In Board Exams”