Sympathy is human. Accountability is essential.
Every year, when major examinations such as NEET, JEE, UPSC, and other highly competitive entrance tests are conducted, a familiar story appears in the media.
A student arrives late for a major examination.
The gates are closed.
Entry is denied.
A devastated family is left standing outside.
The cameras arrive.
The interviews begin.
Social media erupts.
Within hours, the conversation shifts to the "cruelty" of the system, the “rigidity” of the rules, and the “injustice” of denying a young person an opportunity over a few minutes.
The images are powerful. The emotions are real. And no decent person can watch such scenes without feeling sympathy for the student and family involved.
A young aspirant stands outside, devastated. Months, perhaps years, of preparation appear to have slipped away in a matter of minutes. A distraught parent breaks down outside the gate. Dreams, sacrifices, expectations, all seemingly lost in a single moment.
Anyone with a heart can understand that pain.
But amid the tears, the outrage, and the endless online commentary, one simple question is often drowned out:
Why was the candidate late?
Not because the answer lacks compassion. But because accountability is far less dramatic than heartbreak.
Every year, millions of students across India appear for examinations that can shape the course of their lives. They face the same traffic conditions, the same uncertainty of travel, the same weather, and often the same anxiety. Yet almost all of them reach on time. Not because they are lucky. Because they plan for the unexpected. They leave early. They verify their examination centres. They account for delays. They understand that on certain days in life, being on time is not enough, one must be early.
Some events carry consequences too important to leave to chance. An entrance examination is one of them.
A flight departs on schedule.
A train leaves the platform.
A job interview begins at the appointed hour.
A court hearing starts when called.
Life is filled with moments where preparation matters more than intention. Yet increasingly, we seem uncomfortable saying this. Instead, we search for external reasons. Traffic. Confusion. Last-minute problems. System failures. We look everywhere except at the possibility that poor planning may have played a role. Empathy is important. But empathy should not erase accountability. Feeling sorry for a student who misses an examination is human. Suggesting that rules should be ignored because the outcome is painful is something else entirely.
The purpose of a reporting deadline is not to punish late arrivals. It is to ensure fairness for every candidate who followed the rules, reached on time, and completed the required formalities.
What about the student who woke up at 4 a.m. to travel? What about the parents who arrived hours early to avoid risk? What about the thousands who treated the exam with the seriousness it deserved? Their discipline matters too.
Perhaps the deeper issue is not about one student or one examination. It is about a growing tendency in society to turn every consequence into a grievance and every lapse into someone else's fault.
“Society progresses not because of the exceptions, but because of the millions who do the ordinary things right every single day.”
The media naturally gravitates toward emotional stories. A tearful parent makes for compelling content. A student who arrived three hours early and quietly entered the examination hall does not. But society progresses not because of the exceptions, but because of the millions who do the ordinary things right every single day.
The lesson from such incidents should not be anger toward authorities enforcing known rules. Nor should it be ridicule of the student involved. The lesson is simpler. Some opportunities are so important that there is no substitute for preparation. Some deadlines are absolute. And one of the most valuable gifts we can give our children is not sympathy after they miss an opportunity, but the discipline that helps them never miss it in the first place.
Compassion and accountability are not opposites. A mature society needs both.
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Pic: AI Generated
