Stop Displaying Our Results On Notice Boards, Knust….

“Dem figure say we be kids… why dem dey post wanna results for de notice board top”..…” Char dis thing be too embarrassing... rydez I no go fit go class again” to wit “Why?.. Do they think we're kids? Why must they post our results on the notice board…” Buddy, this thing is to embarrassing.. I don't think I can patronize lectures like I used to”...

These were the sad but real sentiments that were being echoed fumingly by an acquaintance as he walked down the Mecca road, after going to view his semester examination results on the Faculty Notice Board, probably as the 67th person to do so.

For over 60 years, since its establishment, students in KNUST have always had to learn their results from Campus' “PUBLIC” notice boards. Notwithstanding the introduction of the ONLINE RESULTS PORTAL, by the university in the last semester of the 2010/2011 Academic Year, the public display of examination results continues to exist -A display of results together with NAMES OF CANDIDATES and their INDEX NUMBERS.

In June 2009, students at the Cambridge University, UK, petitioned the 300-years old tradition of displaying examination scores on the schools' senate notice board, to be abolished. Which they eventually succeeded in replacing with a mobile text notification system

A number of reasons have been cited in support of this 'tradition', popular among which is, ''to encourage students who do not perform well in exams''. In response to an online survey conducted by a SOCIAL MEDIA GROUP on facebook, KNUST FILLA, on the public display of results, a student posted rather sarcastically that ''it's very good..They should even add room numbers and mobile numbers if possible, they should even tag us on facebook and we will be okay with it''.

Funny as it may sound, I suppose, he had his reasons for writing that. Which I guess, may not differ greatly from the popular slogan been chanted by the supporters of this tradition.

Nevertheless, the argument, I believe, goes beyond just encouraging 'weak students'. Its an issue of psychological effects. One of emotions and how a person feels upon finding out, second-hand, his semester results on a public notice board. It is an issue of privacy and breach of privacy. I strongly believe, the privacy rules that guard the conduct of examinations in KNUST should guard it through to its final destination- the results. why the double standards? The student must have that absolute right to first access the results and then decide who sees it next. The Online Results Portal that has been introduced by the school is a step in the right direction as it adds to our credit as the nation's premier technology institute. But to a larger extent, it has failed to properly address the issue of privacy about which many students have and continue to raise legitimate concerns. This is not because, the well-built web system has been hacked and cracked by our technocrats, but because the tradition of displaying results on public notice boards, continue to linger on in the nation's finest university. Do we therefore say the motive for the introduction of the Online Results Portal has been flawed? This is rhetoric, I guess.

One thing that keeps many wondering is why the University frowns on indicating student's name on examination scripts, yet unflinchingly support the idea of displaying publicly, students' names together with index numbers. That sounds a bit puzzling if not contradicting. The question I put across again is, '' is the University not exposing her students to the same danger of victimization and undue favouritism that it so dearly wants to protect her students from? Again, it remains rhetoric.

In response to an online survey conducted by KNUST FILLA- a social media group, a student with username, Nanasei Barimah wrote,

''To me publications happens everywhere but the identities of students must be protected. The use of index number is cool but a name with index numbers is a bad practice”. Happy Joel also wrote '' publishing students' results is not offensive, but if the idea behind attaching names is to elevate the performance of the average or weak student ,then it is shallow thinking; its mediocrity. In reality it encourages the best examinee and discourages the poor examinee'…Remember u cannot wake up someone who is pretending to be asleep.''

I want to reiterate that examination is never a true test of knowledge. That somebody did not pass the exams doesn't mean he is a dullard. Several factors go into the examination stage and sometimes this might affect negatively, the result of students. Finding out your results second-hand, especially when you have not performed so well, could be very disturbing and highly embarrassing. To many students, it does hurt more than it motivates them. Sometimes, the wrong score is posted for a student out of a human mistake, or due to computing error. It becomes more worrying when very little is done to correct the damage done to the image of the person. For the issue of motivation, they believe the Academic Supervisors do better than the notice boards do. What even becomes of the Academic Supervisor, when one has already seen his performance on the notice board?

In all, I believe that notwithstanding the direction, angle and perspective one may decide to view it from, the tradition of displaying results publicly on notice boards has lost its relevance in the 21st century, especially in the country's hub of technological education.

It is a policy that needs to be re-looked at and revised or if possible abolished totally. That, I believe will help boost students' confidence and make us realize the full essence of the Academic Supervisors. So together, we can build the KNUST we all yearn for.

I always remember what MR. BILL GATES once said, ''I failed some of my papers but my friend passed all. Today he is an engineer in Microsoft and I'm the owner of Microsoft''…..LETS DO THE RIGHT THING TODAY!!!

LONG LIVE KNUST… LONG LIVE GHANA!!