COIMBATORE: Several students who sat for the class XII board English examination held across Tamil Nadu on Tuesday said many questions were asked from outside the book. Postgraduate teachers who teach English charged that questions were not framed by keeping in mind the below-average students in government schools.
An English teacher, M Devanathan in Coimbatore told TNIE, “Usually, Directorate of Government Examination (DGE) will prepare questions keeping in mind weak students with the aim that they should score at least pass marks. But this year. English questions were unusual and many questions were from outside the book, particularly in Part I and IV. As a result, students who are below-average and average in education, struggled to answer those questions. Sub-par students skipped many questions. There is no chance of them getting pass marks.”
Another teacher, M Padmapriya in Erode, said “We have a method to prepare weak students to get pass by coaching them in book-back questions. They were prepared to answer exam-based book-back questions. But, out of the 20 one-mark questions in Part-I, just four questions were asked from the book-back ones. These students were in for a shock in the exam hall as the expected questions were not featured.”
She also noted that many students are anxious about the marks in this paper and even brilliant students can miss out on a centum in the exam.
A government school student, L Vishnu in Coimbatore told TNIE, “I was totally upset after reading the one-mark questions. I answered just eight questions in part -I as there were unrelated questions.”
“I also skipped a few unrelated questions in other parts. A majority of students did not write the exams well due to unrelated questions,” he worried.
Transgender student D Aijitha in Coimbatore told TNIE, “Like one-mark questions, we had to write answers to a few questions which are considered as common questions which are not in the book. It will be tough for average and below-average students.”
R Saravanan, an English tutor from Win English Guide and TRB Academy at Namakkal, who analysed the question paper, told TNIE that out of the 90 marks, questions for 43 marks were asked from the book-back, nine marks from the book and 38 marks from outside.
He said that questions outside the book were asked to test the student’s skills in the English subject but their level was equal to TRB questions.
“Questions should have been framed in the ratio of 60 (book back): 40 (book inside and common) in the exam. As questions for just 43 marks were asked from the book-back, students with low proficiency, especially in arts stream, could not perform well in this exam. They will get low marks or fail in this exam,” he said.
He said that question numbers 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19 and 20 in part - 1 and 44, 45, 46, 47 in part IV, etc were asked from outside the book.
When asked about it, a top officer at DGE in Chennai told TNIE that questions were framed only from book-back and inside the book and there was no question from out of book.