Class X pass percentage in the result declared in May this year was a shocking 57 per cent, a 14 percentage-point drop from the average of 71 per cent over the previous four years. Will the result for the current session be any better, or do things in the crucial education sector remain unchanged?Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had found the result “very disturbing” and “issued strict instructions” to the Education Minister to make a blueprint to revamp the entire education set-up. Halfway through the current academic year, The Tribune examined the specific reasons for the poor performance and checked to see if any action had been taken to address those deficiencies. The evidence was anything but encouraging, and there is every chance the next result will be no better.According to the Punjab School Education Board, 1.9 lakh students of the 3.3 lakh who took the exam failed (including 94,271 “reappear”) because the evaluation norms this year were not “relaxed” as earlier.Over the years, claims have been made regarding teacher recruitment, upgrade of labs, introduction of computers, and assessment of teachers. However, that has failed to show results. Official figures indicate that the number of students in government schools has been on the decline. On the other hand, a sizeable number of private schools do not have qualified teachers or other infrastructure. But there are other challenges too:
NO EVALUATION
In the absence of any evaluation for a student till Class IX under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, teachers in Class X often end up teaching them basics such as grammar. Ashok Chichra, who retired recently as principal from Government Senior Secondary School for Boys, Fazilka, says: “Earlier a student was evaluated before he entered Class VI. Now teachers are struggling to teach mathematics and science basics as if the students were in primary classes.” It was reported in 2016 that the board had given 27 grace marks to at least 1.12 lakh students, all of who had failed in one or more subjects.
Action taken: Quoting his communication with the Union HRD Ministry, former state education minister Dr Daljit Cheema had announced in August 2015 that board exams for classes V and VIII would restart from 2016. However, that has not happened thus far.
Official speak: DPI (Secondary Education) Paramjit Singh says a parliamentary committee is learnt to have recommended restarting the Class V and VIII exams, though the policy will have to be passed by Parliament. It will help improve the quality of education, he adds.
