BENGALURU: Results for Karnataka’s Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) exams have painted a grim picture this year.
The pass percentage for 2023-24 averaged 73.40 per cent, yet the actual pass percentage was a mere 54 per cent, meaning only about half of the total 8,59,967 students who appeared passed, according to the previous assessment rules.
This has raised serious questions not only about the quality of state board education, but also the future of these children who passed only due to the ‘government’s grace’.
With the declaration of results on May 8, the Karnataka State Examination Assessment Board (KSEAB), the nodal authority for examinations in the state under the Department of Primary Education and Literacy, stated that due to the decline in pass percentage by 30 per cent since last year, which was 83.89 per cent, the board decided to “enhance normalisation in the interest of students”.
The qualifying marks for attracting grace from the existing 35 per cent were reduced to 25 per cent, and grace marks increased from 10 per cent to 20 per cent in all subjects, as a one-time measure for all three SSLC exams of 2024. If one recalls, the government on September 5, 2023, had scrapped supplementary exams and introduced three board exam rules, allowing students to choose the best out of three as their final grade.
This ‘normalisation of qualifying marks’ is a point of contention because if students cannot have a basic understanding of the subject, how are they qualified enough to move to higher classes? Many educationists have attributed this move by the government as a face-saving measure. Several individuals, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, raised questions on the need for increased grace marks. Some even said if there are two more exams left, why issue grace marks in the first exam?
Meanwhile, officials said that for the first time in SSLC exams, webcasting systems through CCTV were introduced in almost 99 per cent of the 2,750 examination centres throughout the state. Control rooms were set up in all districts to monitor the live feed. “This has restored integrity and inculcated a habit of writing exams without resorting to unfair practices,” defended Ritesh Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary, School Education and Literacy department. This year, malpractices were recorded in single digits for each paper, with two instances of mass copying.
According to officials, over 1,70,000 students were awarded grace marks, and at least 78 schools in the state had zero students passing the state boards, with Kalaburagi district recording the highest number of 18 schools with zero pass percentage.
KSEAB Chairperson Manjushree N told TNIE that only students in C+ (50-59%) and C (35-49%) grades have benefited from the grace marks, which were given to encourage them to perform better in the forthcoming exams. “As far as the total of 625 is concerned, a student needs to score at least 175 aggregate marks to qualify for grace marks.
But this year, the bar was dropped to 125 marks. We saw that some students had scored 175 and above, but failed in some subjects. To help them move to the next class, grace marks were introduced. The aggregate will still be only 35 per cent. Next year, this system won’t be necessary,” she said.
What about other boards?
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) recorded a pass percentage of 93.60 per cent, while the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE Class 10) examination secured a pass percentage of 99.83 per cent for 2023-24. Experts have often compared the state’s performance to these boards; however, some also argue that for ICSE, the aggregate passing marks are a culmination of external and internal marks, which need to be 33 per cent in total.
For CBSE, however, the rule differs, with 33 per cent each in external and internal evaluation to be declared pass for Class 10. These boards also offer a comprehensive curriculum and unique approach to learning, helping students build holistic knowledge and skills relevant to today’s day and age.
Ganesh Bhatta, educationist and chairperson of Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) in 2014, was the one who made it compulsory for students to achieve passing marks in internal and external exams separately, to pass Class 10. “Today, schoolteachers are only focusing on the ‘passing package’, which means at the start of the year, they are only teaching the syllabus that will help students pass. They do not impart knowledge on the conceptual understanding behind the topics, due to which students fail to perform in exams.” He added that the state education system needs an overhaul.
A teacher’s role
An official from the education department, on condition of anonymity, said the scarcity of teachers in government schools is one of the reasons for poor SSLC results. “There aren’t enough teachers in certain districts, which drastically brings down the quality of education. One teacher handles multiple grades, and is bound to deliver less compared to teachers in other schools.” According to data, there are over 50,000 vacant posts of teachers in primary schools and 10,000 in high schools that need immediate redressal to restore the quality of education in state board schools.
Teachers need to take the job as a challenge, their attitude towards the profession needs to change, which will automatically have an impact on the student’s learning curve, said KR Venugopal, former principal of UVCE. “The foundation of students needs to be stressed. Teachers’ training needs an overhaul that can impart quality education.
Exams are only implicit; the quality of input, passion to inspire students, and ability to always keep learning can help younger generations go a long way,” he said. The educationist emphasised that in the long run, exams should be only formative, and continuous evaluation of concepts is needed.
The low grades are also seen as a result of the Covid-19 impact on education, during which students of Classes 8 and 9 were promoted due to the pandemic.
The other aspect is the quality of teachers. If one takes a look at the recently announced Karnataka State Eligibility Test (KSET) results for the hiring of Assistant Professors in degree colleges, we can understand where the pain points for primary education lie. A total of 95,201 individuals appeared for the exam for Arts, Science, and Commerce. Only 6,675 have qualified under the set criteria.
Urban vs Rural
Though data from KSEAB shows that rural areas have performed better than urban areas in SSLC in the last three years, unaided schools score better in the overall pass percentage. In 2023-24, urban areas had an overall pass percentage of 72.83 per cent, while rural areas excelled by a 2 per cent margin at 74.17 per cent.
However, 6,144 private schools under the state board secured 86.46 pass percentage, 5,906 government schools scored 72.46 per cent, and 3,606 aided schools secured 72.22 per cent. The lowest-performing category was Scheduled Tribes (ST) at 69.22 per cent after normalisation.
Kannada-medium schools in the state performed poorly with a pass percentage of 69.34, compared to 85.59 per cent in 2023. The second examination for Class 10 is scheduled between June 14 and 22.