-Brian Mendonça
If
it is one group who feel anxious at the beginning of an academic year, it is
the higher secondary students. The 10+2+3 system has a student spending ten
years in school, two in higher secondary, and three in college. In school and
college students have pretty much settled down. It is the +2 stage where students
begin to look like Trishanku suspended between heaven and earth.
Shorn
of their hand-holding in the school and the intervening years, HSS students do
not know what to expect as they enter the portals of college. It is a big world
out there. No doubt they have seen so
many confident role-models in college, they must be wondering if they will
match up to them.
The
jury is out when it comes whether college life is anticipated to be fun, or
school will always be the best. Students
fear the strict attendance in college. A
college admission entails some students staying in the college hostel. Bereft
of friends and family they are left rudderless. Now they have to make decisions
on their own.
Whereas
in school they were ruled by uniforms, in college they are free to wear clothes
of their choice. While this sense of liberation may cause some elation, a fair
number are concerned whether they will have enough clothes to wear. A school uniform made it all egalitarian.
There was no scope for one-upmanship.
Of
course in school, students relied on notes. In college, a student has to fend
for oneself. Higher order skills are inculcated. A student needs to arrive at
an answer through research. Original thinking is encouraged.
One
major area of concern was mobile phones. In school they were not allowed. In
college students cradle them as extensions of themselves. Owing to this malaise
college students appear more self-centred. There may be three of them on a
bench during recess and all three are on their phones.
In
school the teachers took a personal interest in you. They told you when you had
to cut your nails – or hair. Discipline
was their middle name. In retrospect the students liked being kept in line. It
gave a sense of order to their lives.
Assembly
was a unique feature of 10+2. ‘Everyday we learnt something new,’ was the
general feeling. Punishment was met with
approval. It showed what was right from wrong.
The
midday meals in school were something to look forward to. It took away the
pressure of putting food on the table.
Schools
believed in mass promotion. In college one would have to strive to earn one’s
laurels. Of course you get to choose your subjects.
In
school there was a test after every chapter. In college tests are limited. It
is an opportunity to make new friends. College is more career-oriented. There
is a bigger library. If one is late in college for a lecture one is welcomed
usually. In school you have to stand out for the entire class.
So
welcome to college and make the most of it.
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Published in Gomantak Times Weekender, St. Inez, Goa on Sunday 1 July 2018. Pix courtesy Class 10 result. financialexpress.com
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