Why board exam results no longer decide your future

More than a million students will find relief from a long wait and spells of anxiety today, after the CBSE's declaration of the Class 12 results.

This would inevitably be followed by the endless social comparisons - how well the ward of Sharma ji did and how Mehta ji's daughter was all hype and no substance. It will be a day of many egos taking flight and even more hopes dashed.

Many new heroes will be born and old ones scorned as being just hype. Relatives long lost will be rediscovered as they call up with their concerned queries about the results and offer unsolicited advice on what should be the road ahead. Facebook will come alive with status updates which would make one wonder if at all there are those who didn't score the mighty nineties.

All this would make lakhs of parents and children believe that the world begins and ends at how well the ward fared in their board result. But nothing can be more distant from the truth. Far from being the make or break test of a golden future, the board exam result should not worry students beyond a point for the following reasons:

Limited practical utility

Today the board exams have limited practical utility in determining the college one gets admission into. For most of the streams, admissions are conducted through competitive exams like JEE mains for engineering, CLAT for law and various medical tests for MBBS and BDS. Only in the arts, commerce and management do board results play a meaningful role in admission to prestigious colleges.

The college one gets admitted to has much more consequence than the board results, which are reduced to a forgotten number beyond a point in one's career. So the whole hype surrounding the results is distanced from ground realities and should not make students overly conscious or worried.

No relevance in a skill-driven economy

With widespread opportunity to make it big, if one is really talented, the past wisdom of needing to be outstanding throughout doesn't hold much ground in today's economy. If you are good at what you do, opportunities abound to help you prove your worth and enter the big league.

While a good board result does provide some advantage in terms of understanding an individual's consistency, it certainly is not a make or break thing.

With the digital revolution expanding opportunities for freelancers, open source platforms flourishing, booming unconventional business opportunities, et al, the traditional determinants of success - a good college and favourable board results - are not as necessary and sufficient a measure to gauge one's chances at success as they once where. Those who did not match up to their own expectations should take heart from this fact.

You are bigger than a number

The board exam result is a very minuscule measure of a person's worth and capability.

An individual's personality is much larger than their education and their education is much more than their formal results. Or, as Mark Twain had said: "I never let my schooling interfere with my education". Along the lines of this thought, one should not let one's board marks be the mirror in which to evaluate one's personality. We are much bigger than a number, which is what board results ultimately boil down to.

Poor results are a great learning opportunity

It is abundantly clear that, in today's India, the Class 12 results don't have a significant, real impact on one's future. However, their psychological impact can't be ignored. The social esteem associated with one's performance in board exams is a consequence most students have to deal with. This is why the way the result, especially a poor performance, is handled is an opportunity to test one's character.

Life seldom fulfills all your aspirations and expectations. It's a long war in which one must learn to take setbacks in their stride. A teenage student who performs below expectations in the board exams gets the opportunity to appreciate this harsh truth early on in life.

Also, a disappointing result pushes many to take their college education more seriously and make greater efforts to succeed.

Unlike many other learning opportunities, this doesn't come with very significant long-term costs. So from an optimist's perspective, the poor results can be a great opportunity to grow one's persona by earning valuable life lessons - of standing up after falling, of working hard, et al.

In conclusion, good or bad, board results shouldn't worry us much. When the society around one obsesses with them today or in the coming days, remember: this too shall pass.