Sometimes, the student who is exceptional in one area spends years being reminded of the subject she struggles with, while the things she does extraordinarily well receive far less attention. We become so busy correcting the 42 that we forget to ask what the 98 could become. That is a loss not only for the student, but for all of us.

The pressure surrounding examination results becomes most visible during public examination seasons. Every year, when SSC and equivalent results are published, thousands of students experience one of the most emotionally significant moments of their academic lives. For some, it is a day of celebration. For others, it becomes a day of disappointment, fear and uncertainty. Recent reports of students losing their lives after SSC results have forced us to confront a painful question: how did a disappointing result become something that some young people feel is impossible to overcome?

A result should be feedback, not a final judgement. A student who fails an examination has failed a test, not their entire future. A student who receives a lower grade has received an outcome, not a permanent label. Neither result should become the permanent definition of their ability, character or future.

Yet many students do not experience results as simple academic outcomes. They experience them through family expectations, social comparison and the fear of being considered unsuccessful. Perhaps the problem is not only the examination system itself. Perhaps it is the culture we have built around it.