‘Need exams for evaluation’

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Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said that the state government was considering the restarting of examinations up to Class 8. He said that as education was a subject of both union and state, a separate resolution would be passed in the Winter Session in Nagpur and sent to the Central government for final approval.
While speaking at a teachers’ day programme in Pune, Mr Pawar said, “The state government is considering starting school examinations up to Class 8 once again for better evaluation of both the student and the teacher. The policy of the Central government is not ideal and is in direct conflict with the interests of the students. So, we (government) have come to the conclusion that examinations should be restarted. The state will send a proposal in accordance with this to the Central government.”
School exams up to Class 8 were abolished in 2009, when the Right to Education Act was introduced across the country. The act does not allow state governments as well as schools to put the burden of exams on students. In order to assess the students, a continuous comprehensive evaluation system was introduced that replaced marks with grades.
Objecting to the grade system, Mr Pawar said, “Due to the exams being abolished, it has become difficult to understand whether the student is learning or not. It is also difficult to identify their capabilities, as there is no competition among them. Under such circumstances, students will not be able to face the competitive world.”
When the decision to abolish exams was introduced, many parents’ groups had objected to it saying that it would not be possible to assess the students anymore. Teachers would simply run through the syllabus without ensuring whether the students have understood the concepts.
“There have been objections to the ‘no exam till Class 8’ system as children will find it difficult to appear for exams in Class 9 and 10. Also there will be instances where schools could detain students or expel them from school after Class 9 if they are not able to do well in the exams. Such fears and doubts among parents has been the sole reason for many parents’ groups petitioning the state to restart exams up to Class 8,” said Jayant Jain, a member of the Parents-Teachers’ Association in Mumbai.
As the state government cannot interfere with the RTE Act, a separate resolution will have to be passed in state Assembly. “Education is the subject of the Union as well as state. So, a resolution will solve our problems,” said Mr Pawar. “Getting better education is the right of each student and the state government will take care of it,” he added.