THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government’s attempts to introduce minimum mark requirement of 30% to pass the theory component of SSLC exam, as part of efforts to improve the quality of school education, has met with stiff opposition from CPM-affiliated teachers’ and students’ unions.
At a conclave chaired by General Education Minister V Sivankutty in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday to discuss exam reforms, pro-CPM Kerala School Teachers’ Association (KSTA) and SFI fiercely resisted the move saying it would be detrimental to students from marginalised and underprivileged sections. The conclave was organised by the State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT).
Speaking at the conclave, SFI state president P M Arsho said students could not be held responsible for the drawbacks in the present evaluation system. He argued that the quality of school education cannot be improved by stipulating minimum marks in the written component of SSLC exam. It would only serve to increase the number of children failing in the exam and drive away a large number of students from the schooling system. AISF said it was not opposed to reforms but it should be carried out in a timely and scientific manner. KSU and ABVP leaders said they did not attend the conclave as they were “not invited”.
Interestingly, the minimum mark proposal was broadly welcomed by most of the teachers unions affiliated to opposition parties, including Congress. Stung by the opposition from pro-Left outfits, Sivankutty refuted their argument that tribal, SC/ST and underprivileged children will be adversely affected if the minimum mark condition required for pass is introduced. He stressed that reforms in the current evaluation method, that were essential to improve the quality of school education need to be implemented.
“No child will be kept away from the schooling system or deliberately failed in exams. This government is well aware of the issues being faced by children from socially and economically weaker sections. But we cannot accept concerns that only serve to weaken reforms,” he said.
The minister assured that suggestions of the conclave would be submitted as a detailed report to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for his consideration. The various proposals mooted by student and teachers union representatives and senior academics will be discussed in detail by the state curriculum committee.
Earlier, welcoming the minimum mark proposal, pro-Congress Kerala Pradesh School Teachers’ Association (KPSTA) suggested that it should be introduced from the primary level itself. The teachers’ union also demanded that marks should be shown along with grades in the SSLC exam on the lines of the higher secondary exam.
Pro-CPI teachers’ union AKSTU said minimum mark criteria could be introduced in exams to ascertain if a student has achieved the desired learning outcome. However, students who fail to meet the minimum mark requirement should be given additional academic support and should be further evaluated to improve their scores.
Kerala Higher Secondary Teachers’ Union (KHSTU) and Kerala School Teachers’ Union (KSTU), both affiliated to the Indian Union Muslim League, demanded that all reforms suggested in evaluation should be clearly laid down in the revised curriculum framework. The teachers’ union also cautioned that implementing exam reforms when the textbooks of only classes I, III, V, VII and IX were revised would create confusion among students.
Key recommendations
Summing up the deliberations at the conclave, Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK) state project director Supriya A S said the government stood for an all-inclusive teaching and evaluation system. On the complaints about lapses in Continuous Evaluation (CE), the conclave recommended that training should be provided to teachers to address the issue.
A two-tier monitoring mechanism should be introduced for CE, and the teaching-learning activity should be modernised. The results of the continuous evaluation should be uploaded on a dedicated website to ensure transparency. The minimum mark requirement for SSLC exam could be implemented after taking students and parents into confidence. Skill evaluation should be made an integral part of CE, the conclave suggested.
Social justice and equity should be ensured when evaluation system is reformed. Special attention should be given to tribal and marginalised sections of children and special package should be evolved for them in the evaluation process. The practice of obtaining disability certificates fraudulently to utilise the service of a scribe for exam should be discouraged, the conclave recommended.
SSLC evaluation reform
80% marks are awarded for Terminal Exam (TE) & 20% marks for Continuous Evaluation (CE)
In papers of 100 marks and 50 marks, CE is assigned 20 marks and 10 marks respectively
Schools usually award full marks in CE to the candidates to improve the success rate
At present, student needs just 10 out of 80 marks and 5 out of 40 marks in TE for pass
General education department wants to introduce minimum mark requirement of 30% in TE
As per new norm, student will have to score 24 out of 80 marks and 12 out of 40 marks in TE