Inflated Marks In Board Results During Covid Might Put Students Back Later On
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
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By Linus Garg
First publised on 2021-07-21 03:30:47
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
The West Bengal Madhyamik (Class X) results are out. In a first, the success rate is 100 percent and no candidate has failed. Further 79 candidates have secured 697 out of 700. Also, there is a 300 to 400 percent increase in students getting over 80% and 90% in all subjects except mathematics. While this was a Covid year and no pen-and-paper exams were held, yet such a deluge of marks doesn't look proper and according to educationists, the evaluation was not scientific.
Although the Board did its best in evaluating students as per their performance in the last two years, it is still impossible to believe that the set of students evaluated this year are so superior to those in the past when physical exams were held.
Educationists have warned that such inflated marks may not give students a fair idea of their ability. This is true. Actually, evaluation on past performance, where schools play a huge role by inflating internal assessment marks, is not the best way. But a better way of evaluation has not been suggested by anyone and the Supreme Court has accepted this evaluation formula.
Educationists have also said that if the same formula is followed for 10+2 results (to be announced later this week) and students get similarly inflated marks, it will pose a problem for UG admissions. They have suggested that universities must be allowed to test the ability of students in the subject they apply for. Otherwise the students will suffer and the quality of education may also go down.
This is a sane suggestion. There must be an online test for admission to UG courses, for, even in these troubled times students must be assessed for their ability and aptitude to apply for and study the subject they choose for UG studies. Specialization in UG courses is the foundation stone of students' careers and their aptitude needs to be tested before admitting them.
