Invigilators are people we don't see very often. Being students of a very structured education programme, the only times we get to see invigilators before graduating secondary school and escaping to various colleges or fast food restaurants looking for a job, are a) when we were 12, sitting for the first major exam in our life that would play a very important role in our future life in secondary school, b) the last months of our secondary three school year, when all of us would finally face the ultimate exam that would seperate us into the legendary Science Students or Arts Students and c) when we are 17, all of us would again have another exam, this time, it would determine if we were qualified for colleges, scholarships, half scholarships, priviledges and the likes.

These are the times invigilators (actually common teachers) are sent from other schools to our schools, or the schools we go to to seat for the examination. And teachers would be sent from our schools to other schools as well. Like an exchange programme, only they don't really get to learn anything except new cheating methods (if they keep their eyes open, which most of the time, they don't), or meet anyone, and it's just for a few hours. Bottom line is, it's boring, who wants to sit or walk or stand in a class full of students, some scribbling like crazy others dropping pencil or any other form of stationaries purposely just to annoy you, for hours upon hours without any books to read or a comfortable place to sleep? That explains why invigilators are so bad tempered.

So being fifteen, and in secondary three, this is the time of the year I get to observe the invigilators up close. It's not a very entertaining past time, but when I have more than one hour left to sit through without anything to distract me, it seemed like a good idea. Turned out, it wasn't such a good idea after all. This time, the invigilator was a very boring lady in her late fifties, at least. And being in a private school, I had to walk, along with my friends, to a boy school nearby to take the papers, where the boys behaved like primates and sometimes while standing at the balcony of first floor looking towards the road, I feel like I'm in an exotic rainforests inhabited with over-excited monkeys. And with more than an hour to spare, looking at the invigilator sleeping in front of me did not help my already-annoyed mood.

What is the purpose of an unconcious teacher in a room with a group of students sitting for an examination they were convinced would determine their future, and therefore would risk anything to pass with flying colours? I could have cheated and nothing would ever happen. So much for the ultimate exam, the only thing special about it was that cheating could be done openly without any actions taken. To calm myself and to distract my mind from unpleasant thoughts, I concentrated on the patterns on the dented and weathered walls, painted a disturbingly thick coat of dirty yellow, or maybe it was the dust that made it look dirty. I found some patterns that looked like the world map, only Africa had disappeared and Southeast Asia and Australia was not connected to anything at all. I think it's very apparent that I was bored to the point of turning crazy. I finally resolved to trying to tap my identity card in rhythm to the seconds.

I cannot believe how much time was wasted doing exams like these, yes, I know, the whole country is taking the exam at the exact same time, yes, it's a big deal that would in some twisted and complicated way affect the life I would eventually lead. But is this necessary?? One hour for a forty questions English objective paper?? The questions did not vary much from those I answered when I was twelve. I took only five minutes. That means I would have to wait/waste fifty-five minutes of valuable time trying to prevent myself from madness. It was a tiring and suffering process, one of the worst I've been through. And I've lived in places where none of the toilets flush and showerheads stop working whenever they please, even when you have shampoo in your hair and all over your body.

Exams have taken such a significant position in a school and a student's life that they have silently but effectively taken over the importance of learning. Now, learning and understanding is no longer the key point of attending school, getting A's in exams, with whatever method, is. I find this especially saddening, it's hypocritical, yes, we need exams to seperate the smart ones from the average ones, and it is unfair to let every student, with or without potential, hardworking or not, enter the top class of the school. But admit it, exams are overrated. Do exams prove everything? Maybe the student only studied one topic the day before the exam and hit the jackpot. Is this student to be considered genius?? Because Einstein never did well in school when he was young, but he calculated the speed of light, a feat highly impossible for all the straight A's student to accomplish.

Maybe there's just no accurate way to measure one's intelligence and potential, maybe the solution is to give every child equal opportunities to be great.