How important is 1/4th of ones life?

okay I have'nt posted for quite a long time. After a lot of introspection into the lives of many students I have arrived at a very alarming fact. The fact is that about one-fourth of every Indian student's life goes in preparing for , getting tensed and worrying about "EXAMS".

Think about it an average indian lives say until 80 yrs . And all graduates be it the ones doing a three, four or five year course sacrifice 1/4th of their lives for exams . Isn't it the most ridiculous thing to happen to anyone???

I was lucky enough that my school did not conduct exams until class 5 and i had an opportunity atleast to enjoy those few years of childhood. But when i see my 4yr old cousin preparing for her L.K.G alphabets and rhyme exam it makes me wonder whether our forefathers of education and the heads of the educational insttutions have any idea about why exams are conducted.

The hype and hysteria surrounding exams make it a do or die situation for every student.
Parents and teachers make it even worse.The general perception is that if one fails an exam he or she's life and career is at stake.

We ( i mean parents , teachers and damn the heads of the institutions) should realise that exams are not about getting good marks , but about displaying ones knowledge about the subject or anything for that matter. And how can we measure this knowledge???? If you failed an exam it just meant you did not have enough knowledge about the subject. It does not mean you are a total dull head and not fit for anything in life. It just gives you another chance to gain knowledge.
Knowledge is what is important not the marks. True understanding of the subject is what is important. Some may do it before the exam and some may do it after failing it.

We definitely cannot do away with exams but atleast take it in the right spirit. Lets not make it rule one-fourth of our lives ( parents ,teachers and more importantly students ). Lets begin to understand "MARKS ARE AFTERALL NUMBERS".