THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A directive by the general education department to higher secondary schools to come up with their own question papers for the Plus Two first-term exam has triggered a row. The directive has come barely two weeks before the commencement of the exams on August 16.
Higher secondary teachers point out that a centralised system for the higher secondary terminal exam followed for the past many years was being undermined without consultation with the stakeholders. It was only during the Covid years that the practice faced disruption. This time around, HS schools have been asked to prepare the question paper from SCERT’s question pool. Interestingly, question papers for the terminal exams of lower classes are prepared by the general education department.
“Since higher secondary students have public exams at the end of the academic year, it is important for these students to have a unified terminal exam that gives proper weightage to each portion. They play a crucial role in equipping the students for the final exam,” opined Manoj S of the Aided Higher Secondary Teachers’ Association.
The circular by the Joint Director (Academic) of the HS wing warns of action against principals if they distribute question papers prepared by teachers’ associations or other agencies. With the cost of bringing out question papers landing on schools, it is obvious that the financial burden will be passed on to the students.