THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a major embarrassment for the state government, Director of General Education (DGE) Shanavas S has decried the practice of awarding liberal marks to increase the number of students given A Plus grades in the SSLC examination.
Barely hours after the audio clips of his address at a closed-door exam-related workshop became public, the government disowned the remarks, with General Education Minister V Sivankutty clarifying that it was not the “government’s stand”.
Sivankutty has also sought a detailed report from the DGE in the wake of the remarks that he said created ‘confusion’ among the people.
At the workshop, Shanavas said students who were incapable of reading or writing properly were awarded A Plus grade. While decrying the practice of giving liberal marks for the sake of creating more A Plus holders, the official said marks beyond 50% should be awarded purely based on the candidate’s merit.
Reminding that there used to be a time when the state’s education standards were compared to those of top European countries, the DGE said Kerala is now pegged with north Indian states like Bihar. The official’s remarks, which came at a time when the LDF government projects its ‘achievements’ in the school education sector, clearly irked the minister.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan asked the government to inquire into the DGE’s remarks. “The number of students getting A Plus grades has increased seriously. The official’s remarks show that the high success rate being projected now is aimed at just earning credit for the government,” Satheesan said.
“The DGE’s remarks, seen in the context of the findings of recent surveys on the educational standards of the state, warrant a very detailed examination by the government,” demanded Panakkad A Jaleel, general secretary, of Kerala Higher Secondary Teachers’ Union.
In this year’s SSLC exam, the number of students who secured A plus in all subjects was 68,604. This was 24,241 more than that of the previous year. In the 2021 SSLC exam that was held amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a whopping 1.21 lakh students were awarded A plus in all subjects.