Exam Experience

We have all sat for examinations, whether it’s at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Exams form a major part of the school life experience and each of us handle it in our own way. Some hate it while others take it as a challenge. Some may experience black outs during the exams, others may have forgotten their materials at home, we all have our unique experiences. Personalities confide their exam experiences to News on Sunday.

Dorine Chukowry

Rector of the Saint Bartholomew's College and former Mayor of Port Louis, Dorine Chukowry reminiscences about the time when she sat for the English Paper at Form 5 level. “There were various essay titles that were given for the Essay Writing part. I chose to go for the essay 'My Grand Parents'. I decided to write on this topic because I was very close to my grandparents and had wonderful moments with them when I was a child. However, as I began to write the essay and remember those past moments, I started to feel emotional. In fact I had lost three of them a year earlier. Tears started rolling down my cheeks. So, I closed my eyes for some minutes, calmed down and then started the task.”

Dorine also shares that while writing the essay, she also experienced some confusion on the verb agreement with the first person 'I'. "I got confused on whether we had to add 's' or not. So I started humming the famous song 'I just called to say I love you' to myself. And this helped me in getting the verb agreement correctly."

Geerish Bucktowonsing

The former president of the Mauritius Council of Social Service (MACOSS) confides that the most memorable exam experience he had was when he was a tertiary student at the Regional Engineer College of West Bengal (now known as the National Institute of Technology). “Examinations for me always meant something more than just learning and churning out without any understanding. Exams, for me, meant understanding, concentrating, hard work and regularity in studies.”  The part time lecturer at the University of Technology says that he remembers that he barely slept during exam periods. “We slept only one or two hours and then we went for the exams.” One moment that marked him forever was when he sat for his last examination during his tertiary studies. “This last paper was the easiest one and it was a three hour paper. The funny thing was that there was a rush among students as to who will finish the paper first. And the student, who finished first, got out of the class and screamed ‘I am the first engineer of class 1994.’ That student finished the paper in two hours. I can still hear him saying this line. And after that last paper, there was a feeling of relief and happiness that invaded the school,” he remembers.

Jane Ragoo

The Trade Unionist shares that there was always a ritual that was attached to exams. “My father laid much emphasis on education and he always made sure that we were regular in our education. And when we had our examinations, he would come up with a check list. So, on the eve of the exams, we would go through the check list so as to make sure that we didn’t forget anything and ensure that we were well prepared for the big day,” she reminiscences. Jane Ragoo reveals that on the examination day, her parents would wake her up very early. “My father woke us up early. First thing following the shower, he made us eat an orange. Then he would make us go through a revision before we set off to school to sit for the exams. And he did that for every exam we had. Before leaving the house, we would say our prayers. And when we were finally in the examination room with our paper in front of us, we would again silently pray before starting. I was definitely stressed during exams but this prayer helped me to lower that stress level.”

Penny Hack

The lawyer remembers that he was very sick for his School Certificate exams. “It was during 1978/1979. I was suffering from a very bad flu and had to sit for my SC exams at the Saint Joseph College. I remember that on the exam day, my mother came to school and gave me a box of tissue papers. Near my desk was a bin. So during the whole exam, I would blow my nose (me moucher) and then throw the tissue in the bin.” Penny Hack confides that despite him being feverish and sick, he passed his exams. “I had done my revision well beforehand. Waiting for the last minute to revise is not wise. The work has to be done before and along with the school terms. It was also thanks to my parents, who dedicated much time to my education.” Penny Hack believes that the Mauritian education system has to change and more value should be given to the teaching profession. He also trusts that intelligence and potential can no longer be couched on exam results.