West Bengal State Government seeks views of students and parents regarding Board examinations
Kolkata, West Bengal
While CBSE and ISC Boards have canceled their Board examinations for this year considering the raging pandemic and opted for a more nuanced marking system that will take into account the marks from both Class XI and XII while drawing up the individual mark sheets of students, the West Bengal State Board is yet to take a decision on their annual board examinations.
The State education department on Sunday sought the opinion of students, guardians, and the general public on this bewildering issue. While an expert committee constituted by the education department to deliberate on the issue has already submitted its report, the department has decided to widen the ambit of consultation by asking the public as well.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in a tweet encouraged parents to send emails to the state education department with their suggestions regarding the issue, by 2pm Monday.
Educators have said that the outreach to the public reflects the challenges involved in holding the examinations amidst the pandemic as well as assessing in case the exams are canceled and the sensitivity of the issue given that the fate and future of about 21 lakh students hang in the balance.
The move was also prompted by the dilemma that is evident in the expert committee report. Thought the six members agreed that holding the examinations in the offline format in schools and online format at homes was not possible due to the pandemic and access to the internet and electronic devices is not available to a large section of students.
The panel had suggested a home assignment or an open-book examination by sending the Papers via post to the student’s homes and them receiving them back by post as well. But that is easier said than done as there are huge logistical issues with delivering to over 8.5 lakh HS students. Some are disgruntled that the panel did not consult any teachers. It seems that without examinations, it would be difficult to judge the progress of students.
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News source: Times of India
Update by Indranuj Ray