Education Revolution

Should Class X students be allowed to pick streams? A committee set up to review examination system for classes X, XI & XII recommends revolutionary changes


By Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Wednesday, September 30, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : (Cover story : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=200909302009093003090029642a41b0b)

Committee’s Recommendations
For class X
» Replace essay-type exam with a multiple-choice one
» Allow students to pick a stream – science, arts or commerce in class X itself
» Make it easier for students to clear subjects not relevant to their stream
» This can done by introducing two-level exams. A student who wants to pursue arts may only clear level 1 exam

For class XI and XII
» Semester system, multiple-choice test

A panel formed by the state education board to review the examination process of classes X, XI and XII is planning to propose sweeping reforms which will benefit lakhs of students. The panel wants to overhaul the exam system, so that a science, commerce or arts aspirant doesn’t have to face the stress of scoring well in subjects which he/she doesn’t intend to study in higher classes.

One of the most important measures recommended by the panel to this end is replacement of the class X essay-type exams with a multiple-choice test. The 15-member committee reportedly wants the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) to conduct class X exams in two stages: A and B.

It favours a multiple-choice test of 50 marks in both the stages. It, however, believes in granting students the freedom to decide whether they want to undergo examinations in both the stages or just one. For instance, a student who plans to take admission in arts will be required to take only stage A test.

The stage B examinations will be conducted for only those students who want to take admission in commerce and science. “The introduction of this method will lead to a lower passing threshold, i.e. a student will need to score only 17 marks per subject to clear the class X examinations,” the sources said. “The merit list for science and commerce streams will be prepared on the basis of students’ results in stage B test. So, even if a science aspirant scores fewer marks in stage A test, he/she can still secure admission in the aforesaid discipline by scoring well in the stage B test.”

While the 15-member committee, which met last week to finalise its recommendations, favours simplification of class X tests, it is apparently against making them optional. The panel, according to the sources, feels that making class X exams optional will lead to intractable administrative problems for the GSHSEB.

The committee, the sources said, wants the education board to introduce a semester system in classes XI and XII. “The panel favours a two-semester system in the aforesaid classes,” they said. “It wants the board to introduce multiple-choice tests in both semesters for class XI students. In class XII, however, the panel wants a multiple-choice test in the first semester and a written exam in the second.”

The sources said that panel also planned to recommend to the state government to end the practice of releasing a toppers’ list. “The panel feels a list should be declared after class X and XII exams, but it should be prepared on the basis of ranks,” they said. “The list, according to the committee, should contain highest passing percentages for the year and the number of students who have achieved them. The committee doesn’t want any mention of top schools in the list.”

The panel, headed by former chief secretary Sudhir Makad, is expected to submit its recommendations to the state government on October 7. It has asked three of its members to prepare a final draft of exam reforms. Even if the state government accepts the recommendations, it won’t put them into practice before 2011-12.