Mixed views on scrapping public exam

Updated on: Tuesday, June 30, 2009

The academia in the State is divided on the proposal by the Ministry of Human Resources Development to make the class X examination optional. Experts have warned that intensive debates should be held before implementing these proposals. The recommendation favouring a single school board for the entire nation has also evoked mixed response.

HRD Minister Kapil Sibal had sparked off a nationwide debate on June 25 when he announced that the government intended to make class X examination optional, thus permitting students continuing in the same school (and who do not need a board certificate) to take an internal school assessment instead. The Ministry also proposed a system for replacement of marks by grades in schools affiliated to the Central Board of School Education (CBSE) for the secondary classes IX and X.

Class X exam is still necessary and relevant even though Plus Two had been made part of school education, said B. Ekbal, renowned academician and former Vice Chancellor of Kerala University. “At this level, a section of students may still leave schools to join skill-oriented courses offered by polytechnics and ITIs. Conducting exams for those who desire to leave school alone is not practical. Before a hasty decision is taken as part of the 100-days programme of the UPA government, a wider discussion with State governments and academics is necessary. This is needed because education is in the concurrent list and in a federal structure discussion with the State governments is necessary before such a radical change is initiated,” he said. Mr. Ekbal also opposed the move to have single board pointing to the heterogeneous educational needs of different States in India. He said that the country can however consider a common minimum eligibility test in the form of the National Eligibility Test as a minimum requirement apart from entrance tests for admission to higher studies in national institutes. A common entrance test at the all-India level for medical/engineering courses can also be considered, he said. While announcing the reforms, Mr. Sibal had said that doing away with Class X exams would reduce the trauma experienced by the students. He had also said that education should not be traumatised. Reacting to the Minister’s views, C.J. John, senior psychiatrist in Kochi, warned that the move to make the Class X exam option might create a new kind of pressure. “The pressure of whether to opt for the exam or not will generate stress among the students. Parents will put pressure on students to opt for the exam system saying that there was a chance that their children might be left out from the common system,” he said.

Explaining that the grading system had reduced the tension associated with examinations, Dr. John said that the proposal to do away with the exams was ideally sensible but care should be taken to protect the students who opt for not taking the examinations from another kind of trauma.

Stating that the lack of opportunities for higher education even after getting high marks was yet another trauma for students, Dr. John said that there were several anomalies in the higher education sector. “There should be proper and scientific methodology for categorising students based on their aptitude. Each student is unique. He or she should be encouraged to build on his skills. But the higher education here is built on false perceptions. Everyone wants to become a doctor or engineer,” he said.

Opposing the plan to scrap the class X exam, K.P.P. Pillai, former Executive Secretary of the Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE) and an expert in technical education, said that the trauma related to examinations has come down considerably.

“Where is the tension when about 95 per cent of the students who appear for the SSLC examination pass the test?” he asked. Dr. Pillai said that 60 out of the 210 marks required for a pass in the exam is given as moderation. “Students get marks once they have made an attempt to answer a question. The exam fear has also got reduced with the authorities holding only one exam a day

Mixed views on scrapping public exam

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