‘GENERAL’ KNOWLEDGE, IS IT?

Preparing for MBA entrance is an experience in itself,especially in a country like India where your managerial skills are tested on the basis of how much of ‘general knowledge’ u can stuff inside your head. Not that i am claiming that i would have come out with flying colours, had this not been a criteria and only analytical and language skills were tested, neither m I of the view that g.k. is outrightly unimportant, but what I m trying to put forward is- while its good for an individual to know what’s happening around him/her, in the process of selecting candidates who are eligible to take up difficult business ventures, have the required perpicacity to look through the intricacies of a problem and can make sound mental judgement even under pressure ( i suppose this is what an MBA graduate is expected to possess), a mandatory g.k. test should be abolished as a criteria . Proponents of the g.k. test for MBA might argue that a sound g.k. is kind of a ‘basic requirement’ when it comes to shortlisting candidates, as they think that being ‘generally aware’ is pre-requisite in shaping the personality of an individual. Okay, Agreed! But shouldn’t this be left for the latter stage of selection, for GD and PI ? Why to deny a student a precious seat in a college just because he/ she could not recall the specific date on which some XYZ satellite was launched? And what is the point in asking questions like the name of the technology that was used in the indian sub-marine Sindhurakshak which sank on 14th August this year due to some onboard explosions? And C’mon even if i know the term, does it guarantee that i also understand what it means? How does knowing the answers to such questions add to the overall personality of an individual, that too under so much of examination pressure? Having said all this, i do agree to the fact that my g.k. is well below the ‘decent minimum’ and i need to improve upon that. But, there is no guarantee that a person superior to me in general awareness will also be better in making decision in a precarious scenario, the best example that can be cited here is that of my mother, she might not know the names of the satellites that India has launched this year, or the name of the managing director of IMF, but she is well above me and many of my ‘generally aware’ friends when it comes to taking decisions in household matters. She is THE HERO of her field..she has the requisite EXPERIENCE and that’s the key word! It all comes with EXPERIENCE and not with that ‘victorious’ moment of rememberance when you could recall the name of India’s first prime-minister and fetch an extra mark or two! This kind of encouragement to rote-learning seriouly needs a review.