FIRST CLASS
Before leaving the house that morning, my dad called me to his room to advise me.
“You are no longer a child. Always use your head. You did well in secondary and you were the best. Make me proud again at the university. Make sure you graduate with a first class”.
I had just gotten admission into School of Engineering and was about to go to the park. My mum came over, hugged me and said, “Those graduating with a first class do not have two heads. Be one of them”.
Everyone wanted a first class for me. But what I really wanted was to leave the house. I wanted to be far away as possible. I wanted to be alone.
I left home and got to school. At the School of Engineering, I met scholars. I met brilliant kids from other schools. At that point, I was a local champion. Everyone’s goal was to graduate with a first class. No one wanted a Second Class. It had to be a first class. And there the battle began.
There was a rule in school. As first year engineering students, we were expected to pass all our courses. We would repeat year one if we failed more than 6 credit load courses. Failing two courses or more meant probation. So, in year one we had our greatest fear- Fear of Probation.
Students were not reading because they wanted to learn. They were reading due to fear of failing. No one wanted to fail. And anytime my parents called me, they repeated the same thing, “Read your books and graduate with a first class”.
After my first semester exams, I got a call from my class representative. He said he had seen my results and I didn’t perform well. He said I failed a 3 credit load course. At that point, I was devastated. I didn’t know what to do.
“Should I cry? Should I scream? Who would I meet?”
“How could I fail? The exam was easy. Why then did I Fail?”
I told my best friend about it and he felt sorry for me. He asked if I had seen the results. And when I told him I had not, he responded, “Why do you hurt yourself for a result you haven’t seen? What if the class rep. was wrong? Whose report would you believe?”
That was all I needed. Encouragement.
When the results were pasted on the notice board. I went looking for my F but didn’t find one. Rumour had it that the course was upgraded and I got a D. I felt stupid. I was hurting myself for a result I hadn’t see.
After the second semester exams, the same thing happened. My class rep. called me and informed me that I had failed a 4 credit load course.
“Why was this guy always bringing bad news to me? What was his aim in life?”
When the results were pasted, I went again looking for my F but didn’t find one. Rumour had it that the course was upgraded and I got a D.
I thought of something when I got home that day.
“What if the class rep. was right all along? What if I had failed those courses and they were upgraded? What if they were never upgraded?”
If truly I had failed and those courses were not upgraded, I would have probated.
“Assumption is the mother of all Bleep ups”. I decided not to assume again. I took life the way it came and my parents kept calling and demanded I graduated with a first class.
4 years later I was in my fourth year with a clean slate. I had not failed any course. However, I was getting all the available grades expect F. I got A, B, C, and D but no E and F.
It was few days to the commencement of our first semester examination and one of my lecturers had fixed a test the next day. I tried explaining to him that we were not ready for his test and besides we had other courses to prepare for. The exams were in few days’ time and we needed to study. He had the whole semester to give us a test but he didn’t. Now its Revision week and he was planning for a test. He refused to listen to me. He said the serious ones would write the test and if anyone missed the test, that person would fail the exam.
After he left the class, I had a meeting with my colleagues.
“He cannot fail all of us. We need to study and this in injustice. I will lock up this class today so when he comes tomorrow and doesn’t see anyone, he would return home.”
We agreed as a class to remain at home the next day and read for our exams.
The next day I turned off my phone as not to receive any call from the lecturer. Later in the day when I turned on my phone, I discovered some of my class mates went behind my back to write the test. They said they were scared and the lecturer was willing to fail everyone. I was angry at them. They had betrayed my trust and betrayed the class.
The lecturer demanded to know the bad egg that locked the class and all fingers pointed at me.
“Tell that boy that the department cannot wave 3 courses for him”, he said.
He was taking us three courses and that meant I would fail them all. When I got the news I was scared. I was being punished for doing what I felt was right. I only wanted to be a good leader. To stand up and defend the weak.
I went to him and apologised. After much scolding, he said he had forgiven me and I should prepare for my exams.
I went to write the exams and they were very simple. There was no way I would fail any of the courses but when I got to the notice board I saw a different picture.
I got 2 Ds and a C in the 3 courses.
“How was this possible?”
That really affected my CGPA. Then my parents called me and asked for my results. I told them it was wonderful and they ended the call with their usual statement, “Make sure you graduate with a first class”.
“How could I graduate with a first class when my grades were not improving?”
I had not failed any course and I wasn’t getting the straight As.
I was able to move to the next class and now I was in final year. This was the last phase and I had to get my straight As here to graduate with a good CGPA. I had given up on first class but my parents had not. This was the period to amend my wrongs.
“Your class rep. is not serious. He is lazy and with way he is behaving, I think he will fail”. He said to the class.
I had become the class rep. and it was a night mare.
I could not understand this particular lecturer and his course. I tried but just couldn’t. The course was difficult and I had so much pressure on me that period.
I prepared for his test but couldn’t write anything. I was tired, hungry and broke.
One hour into the test and I haven’t written anything sensible. I only wrote my name and matriculation number. I was starving. I submitted an empty sheet and went out to eat. Few minutes late, I got back to class and I saw him showing the entire class my empty sheet.
“Why would he do that?” I felt embarrassed.
No one asked me what I was going through or why I could not write anything during the test.
I didn’t understand the course. I tried but just couldn’t.
It was time for exam and I studied past questions. I crammed all the formulae and crammed everything in my note. I just had to pass this course.
I did all my assignments, had complete note and attendance and did my project work but had no mark for the test.
I wrote what I could during the exam and left fate to decide.
Results for first semester came out and for the first time I looked at my results three times. I brought out my ID card to cross check my matriculation number. I had failed 2 courses. I had finally failed. I saw the Fs I had been escaping since year 1.
“Why should I fail in my final year?”
“How did I fail in final year?”
“How can I repeat final year?”
“What would I tell my parents?”
I got my first failure in my final year. At that point of self-pity, my dad called me. “Why was he always calling me at the wrong time?”
There was no way I could graduate with a first class. A second class upper would be a miracle. I told my dad my results were okay and he should expect a good result from me.
I didn’t tell him I failed. I only told my sister and she couldn’t do anything. I told her not to tell anyone.
I had already prepared my mind to return to school for an extra year.
Then, my second semester results were released. I wasn’t expecting much. I sluggishly went to check and to my greatest surprise I saw another result that shocked me.
“Why do bad things always happen to good people?”
I realised that one of the courses I failed the previous semester was upgraded and the second waved. I had my best result in my entire stay in school of engineering. I had a 4.47/5.0 in second semester making me to graduate with a CGPA of 3.947/5.0. I graduated with my mates. I was not spending an extra year.
I had my first failure in final year and my best result in final year. That was my first class.