Amid all the hoopla, is the average Delhi student excited? Is he/she happy about Sibal’s proposal? Educational experts, principals have all weighed the pros and cons of having the system. A student is, however, lost somewhere in the debate. Quest takes a look at all the sides of the debate and brings to you a student’s perspective.
Days after Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal called for making the Class X Boards optional and setting up of an alternative evaluation system based on percentiles rather than percentages, the move was revered and reviled in equal measure by different quarters.
While on one hand, a section welcomed the minister’s move, on the other there were apprehensions raised by various schools, educational experts and policy makers.
Even as Kapil Sibal proposed one board for the entire country, there was speculation about the implementation of this plan. There was also confusion regarding the autonomy of the private schools.
“The minister has not made a clear-cut policy on how much autonomy will be given to the schools,” said Vandana Puri, Principal, Salvan Public School, Karol Bagh. The issue of who will be giving percentiles to students, whether it will be the CBSE or the schools has not been made clear by the minister either.
In the schools of the West, the percentile system of evaluation is already in place. The ministry’s decision to eliminate Class X Boards and to implement the percentile system received flak as well. “We cannot blindly follow the western countries, the infrastructure has to be there to support an alternative system,” said another principal from of a Delhi private school who did not want to be named.
A few of the private schools in Delhi are left in a fix after Kapil Sibal’s statement. His stance regarding the selection of stream after Class X be left to the student and not the school has also angered a particular section.
“We have limited seats in each stream. There is a rat race for certain streams among the students. The child at such a young age does not know his aptitude, and this is where the school’s decision to put him in different streams come in,” said Puri.
A debate has already been raging about the allocation of streams by schools. Schools asking the students to go for a certain stream has been in the line of fire for quite some time. “A school knows a child, the teachers know the child’s aptitude, a school should be the one to help the child make the choice,” said another private school principal who did not wish to be named.
There were suggestions regarding a proper link between school education and the university level education as well. “If all students want to opt for the science stream in Class XI, does the government have enough medical colleges to accommodate all students?” asked another principal of a private Delhi school.
Does the percentile system of evaluation or the grading system raise or decrease the level of education? “Students who study will study anyways,” said Usha Ram, Principal, Laxman Public School. “It won’t have much effect on the standard.” However, the grading system will help ease the pressure on the student.
There is a flip side. Making the Class X Boards optional might create problems for students who want to change their Board after their Class X exams. The move of scrapping the Class X exam will prove to be damaging for them “Students who want to switch Boards and join junior colleges will have a problem. Class X Boards gave a logical and objective way of transferring from one Board to another,” said Sumit Mehta, CEO, Zee Learn.
Although the CBSE’s move of changing the pattern of question paper few years ago has been welcomed, many are of the opinion that the emphasis has to be shifted from rote learning to real knowledge. “Saying that eliminating the Class X Boards will relieve parents and students of stress is not a solution. Emphasis should shift from rote learning and that is the only way to lessen the burden,” says Mehta. Sibal had used the word “traumatic” for the tenth Boards.
However, there was some appreciation from certain quarters as well. “The Boards did put unnecessary pressure on students and parents and because of the fear of the Boards, some students from poorer backgrounds drop out of schools. This step will help in checking the dropout rate,” said D K Tiwari, Secretary of Delhi Government School Teachers Association. “Suicide rates among students may come down as well.”
Sara Alvi, a Class IX student is happy about the proposal. “Thankfully the Boards will now be done away with.” Many other students like Sara are happy about Sibal’s proposal as well .
It has become a routine for parents and children to consult counsellors just before the commencement of the Class X Boards. A number of helplines make their presence felt during the exam season. In more ways than one, doing away with the Class X Board exams is by and large in favour of the students.
Having said that, many Delhi students also wish the Board exams are not scrapped. They say the Class X Boards are a preparation for Class XII Boards.
Kapil Sibal’s proposal of making tenth Boards optional comes in the wake of Yashpal Committee’s submitting of its report. The Yashpal Committee was set in February 2008 to study and suggest measures to revamp higher education in the country. The committee submitted its report on June 24. Kapil Sibal had said he would implement the recommendations of the report within 100 days.
Professor Yashpal, who headed the Yashpal Committee, speaking to Newsline, said, “This is a very small, trivial recommendation we have made in the report. There are bigger and more impactful recommendations in the report. I don’t remember exactly what is written in the report, but we do believe that too many examinations are useless,” he said. “It is not a good idea to have two Boards.”