Ever wondered about the correlation between extracurriculars and exam grades? I would
go as far as to say that there is a positive correlation between the number of
extracurriculars and the CGPA of a student. How? Read on to find out.
Chances are, you’ve been made to believe that good grades are the biggest priority of your life ever since childhood. Maybe because of how that has always been in your subconscious mind, you also start believing that everything else is a waste of time in all of its entirety, such as extracurricular activities. However, I believe the opposite to be true. I think that the students engaging extensively in co-curricular activities also score higher than average grades. The better the co-curricular, the better the exam grades of a student.
I believe my opinion matters because I’ve seen countless people around me not partake in extra-curricular activities because of a variety of reasons. The most common one is their mindset that “they won’t have enough time to study’. If we don’t talk about it now, students won’t understand the importance of profile building and time management starting from a young age.
I hold this opinion because I also have numerous examples present before me, including myself; who have not only excelled in extra-curriculars but also aced every single one of their exams. I believe taking up more activities can actually increase how you use your time.
Let me explain. When students focus solely on academics, they are declining the chance to become Global citizens. They are choosing to make academics the most impressive part of themselves. In reality, our grades should be the least impressive attribute of ourselves. This is not to say that we should score bad grades but to say that our personality and profile should be so impressive, that no one even bothers to ask about our grades. So, they waste whatever little extra time they have on their hands either by scrolling or by studying some more, which can be made better use of. However, when they have 10 other meetings to attend or passion projects to work on, they are going to put to use that extra time very vigilantly. In this process, they will excel in time management, decision-making, and completing tasks; all of which are very necessary in today’s job market.
Something that can be changed is the weightage of universities and colleges only on the grades of students, especially in Indian universities. This further propagates that grades and grades alone are more essential than the overall profile of a student. We need to focus on the quality of our students’ thinking, instead of merely testing how mechanical they can be. In this era, the world is a Global village and we’re all citizens of the world, not just of our own country.
At the same time, I believe that the mindset of students should progress as well. Viable solutions can only be implemented if the students themselves are willing to change for the better. They themselves need to be interested in various opportunities for skill development which will help them in their careers. They need to be willing to take up extra work and actually do the extra work. Extra-curriculars are the first step towards the same. Additionally, jobs these days are skill-based, not knowledge-based. Hence, this will help them with their careers at the same time.
Written by Parnika Sahu
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