Madhyamik schools abolishes final exam fears

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 11, 2007

Fear of annual examinations will be a thing of the past in Madhyamik schools. Students from Class V to Class IX studying in Madhyamik schools will from this academic session get their promotion based on their performance in unit tests and annual examination. Also a failure in two subjects will no longer amount to detention till Class VIII.
The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education has chartered an academic calendar and has asked all schools to start Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE). The board has released the CCE, grading and academic calendar booklet on Wednesday and it will be circulated to all schools.
For each subject, there will be eight unit tests through out the year carrying fifteen and ten marks alternately. Based on the marks obtained in the annual exam and all the eight unit tests, a student will get promoted.
“It is extremely unfair to judge a student based on one examination. Hence annual examination cannot be the sole criteria for promotion. The unit tests will also ensure that the students studies throughout the year. The teachers too will get immediate feed back on the students development after each unit test,” said Swapan Sarkar, secretary of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE).
The students who fail in one subject will also get promoted. A Class V student has to study six compulsory subjects. For promotion they will have to pass in a minimum of four subjects. In Class VI, out of seven compulsory subjects, a student will have to pass in five. Those studying in Class VII and VIII study nine compulsory subjects and needs to pass at least in seven. It is only in class IX that the students have to pass in all the nine compulsory subjects to get promotion. “Though this process, the teachers will impart remedial teaching and will ensure that a weak student can upgrade his learning potential,” said Sarkar.
It will be compulsory for students to take the unit tests and annual exam and the schools will have to conduct re-examination for those failing to do so on reasonable grounds.
The guardians too will be made aware of the child’s development. The head of the schools will have to arrange for at least two parent-teachers meeting in a year. Every school will observe a ‘guardian week’, where the guardians will be helped to assist and know about the development of the child.
Though the Class X students have been speared for this year, from 2008-2009 academic session they will have to appear in four unit tests of 25 marks each. In the pre board test exam, the students will require to pass in seven out of eight subjects. The academic calendar has in details explained how the general schools and the schools which host Madhyamik and Higher Secondary exam can have at east 200 teaching days.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com