'Refund' is a modern western one-act play by a Hungarian novelist, short story writer, poet, essayist and playwright, Fritz Karinthy. The author is well known for his satirical writing. The play 'Refund' written in 1938 is about a man about forty who goes back to the school in which he had studied and demands a refund of the fees he had paid eighteen years back claiming that he had learnt nothing useful at school and he is now good-for-nothing. Through the characterization of Wasserkopf, the...

The purpose of an education system is to prepare a skilled and thoughtful nation. builders. These young school products should possess a sound set of problem solving and creative life skills. However, our education system prioritizes theory and memorization over practice and creativity. I don't think theory-heavy knowledge can meet the learners' requirement of their future orientation. Resultantly, they become the prey of unemployment and brain-drain, respectively. I blame all the...

Most of the modem students follow rote-learning just to pass an exam. If one reads just for examination, s/he will miss out on important knowledge required to deal with practical situations in the future. The present readers will need jobs to survive in their working age. Again, every job requires knowledge. In our context, a learner is encouraged to chase higher grades or marks. Certificates become the determinant of one's successful future. However, a certificate without knowledge is just...

Wasserkopf is the male lead of Fritz Karinthy's one-act play 'Refund. He is a forty-year-old man. He goes back to the school in which he had studied and demands a refund of the foes he had paid eighteen years back claiming that he had learnt nothing useful at school and he is now good-for-nothing. He is portrayed as a hopeless and sad man by the playwright. The unemployed broke blames his school for not preparing him well during his school life. He believes that his teachers have made him a...