The Examination Hall – Irking moments

Finally, I would briefly touch on some irking moments in the examination hall. The Oxford English and the Merriam-Webster’s dictionaries both describe an invigilator as an individual who supervises students/candidates in an examination. Students have however turned invigilators into ‘errand boys/girls’.

As a general rule, you (as a student) are supposed to enter the examination hall with all needed materials: pen, pencil, erasers, sharpener, ruler, calculator, ID cards and what have you. More often than not, you find students calling the attention of the invigilator to collect one item or the other from a colleague of theirs.

You also have individuals who would like to visit the washroom countless number of times! They are generally not allowed though, but it is annoying.

Others write on question papers, when they have been instructed not to do so.

Sometimes you have students just getting up from their seats – without any prompting from an invigilator – and walking out of the examination hall – to urinate! Argh!

Another irking moment is when the invigilator is ready to distribute answer booklets/question papers for the examination to begin, only to find students now busily skimming through their notes and discussing ‘possible’ questions.

Other times, students tend to fidget and talk amongst themselves in the presence of an invigilator even though he/she has cautioned them not to. Why do we as students test the paws of invigilators? It beats my mind.

Another irking scenario – an announcement has been made, probably to correct the mistake in a question, or even an instruction. Moments later, a student asks the invigilator what announcement was made or even a question pertaining to the correction that has already been rectified. Very disheartening.

Let us as students, follow examination rules and regulations and stop annoying and frustrating invigilators.