Gendra Galla
Narzinary
(The writer can be reached at ggnarzinary@gmail.com)
The examinations for 10th and 12th standards are usually held in February-March season across the states in India every year, each taking almost a month. The examinations conducted by Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) for 10th standard are over recently. However, 12th standard examinations conducted by Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) are going on. Apart from them, the examinations under the Central boards like Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), both of which conduct the examinations of 10th and 12th standards simultaneously, are also going on.
It is regrettable that central boards are compelled to postpone some of the examinations in riot-affected northeast Delhi that happened recently due to the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 (CAA) protests and fuelled by vitriolic attacks by politicians on protesters. Assam, despite of being epicentre of anti-CAA protests, is conducting all examinations peacefully. Thanks to All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) which took a wise decision to continue anti-CAA protests with a low tone for time being.
The examination is as core component as the study materials, syllabus, trained teachers, school infrastructures, availability of safe drinking water and hygienic kitchen in the era of mid-day meal (MDM) scheme in formal education life of a child. It is not only vital but also inevitable. Escaping examination means school-dropout, telling a child is out of formal education. Well, there may be several unnoticed factors behind such school-dropout cases. But, unlike developed countries, our parents or guardians think that investment in education for their wards while studying in primary school does not pay return at all. They think that returns on investment in education are accrued after their wards complete higher education degrees. However, the wealthy and elite sections across societies know to pay the equal importance of investment in education. Majority within tribal societies and underprivileged sections in India cannot think that investment in primary school pays good returns in terms of reading, writing, speaking and cognitive ability which help a child in the ladder of higher education. Nonetheless, parental care for their wards is improving over the years even in tribal and underprivileged sections of societies. It is common knowledge that results of these examinations set the way for entry into the best colleges in India as well as abroad. I won’t be talking much about this issue. Economists and educationists have better evidences to tell us.
Instead I would like to draw some pertinent issues connected with the examinations conducted by the SEBA and the AHSEC which may be inviting healthy debates to ponder with.
Firstly, routines of board and council always have English paper in first day of their examinations. However, I do not have all routines since their inception to substantiate my statement to be true as they are not digitally available in their websites. But I am pretty much sure that English has been in first day of examinations for the last 25 years. When I appeared my 10th standard what is called High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examination in 2003, many of my friends expressed their grief that English paper demoralized them to tame the remaining subjects of examination as they knew poor performance in it. As we were from vernacular medium of teacher-deficit schools, taming English was a tough task to come up out of jitter and depression. Same gossip of grief I again heard two years later when we appeared 12th standard examination as English paper was in first day of the examination. These experiences tempt me to ask a question: why don’t SEBA and AHSEC put Modern Indian Languages (MIL) paper instead of English in first day of their examinations? Performance on first day of examination boosts the morale of examinees to tame whole papers of examination. However, which subject has better average outcome over the years, only the board and the council can tell it and can decide accordingly.
Secondly, the strict vigils of internal invigilators and deputed external invigilators are important for detecting unfair means in examinations and turning examinations run free of any malpractices are noteworthy. Examinees caught red-handed while adopting unfair means in examinations face expulsion and even SEBA debars them from appearing examination for next three years. Punishment and penalty are always welcome. But how are stakeholders making awareness among students in schools? A bizarre incident that happened inside one of examination halls in Lakhimpur district torments examinees. How can an examinee be asked to remove her clothes before peers in examination hall just because external invigilator suspects her of possessing a piece of note/book? This amounts to outraging the modesty of a girl student that may invite punishment to wrongdoer. Physical checking, if board and council deem fit, is possible only in closed room separately for girls and boys with assigning lady teachers and gent teachers respectively before the commencement of examinations. But whether it is practicable or not the board and the council can think about. However, they need to issue do’s and don’ts and upload them in websites for available.
Thirdly, incident of students committing suicide post-expulsion from examination is a serious issue that should be handled well. I am not in favour of removing punishment and penalty to students those who indulge in adopting unfair means. However, that should not claim human lives. Suitable measures such as keeping those expelled or debarred students under consoling surveillance of family or any other suitable guidelines should be framed. If an examinee is expelled from examination, he/she should not be allowed to leave the examination venue until and unless parents or guardians are called for and they should be told that onus of solace watch rests on family members. It is time board and council came out with better policies to address post-expulsion suicide cases.
Finally, examination conducting agencies should avoid setting of wrong questions. They have to detect the wrongs if any and fix the point of genesis which may be at manuscript or at printing level. Leaking question papers or mongering fake news of leakage should be dealt with strictly. Why do board and council confine their powers of punishment on examinees only? They need to apply even stricter punishment to those who leak papers or even monger of leaking them. Recommendations given by the Review-cum-Reforms Committee on SEBA chaired by Professor Srinath Baruah are implemented or not, board should upload them in website. Truth is that the onus of implementing vital recommendations rests on the Assam government.
Examination-induced jitters are common for students. In extreme, many fall even into severe depression. Such incidents hinder the performance of students in examination. One of many reasons is that they cannot manage time well before the commencement of examination. Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked and interacted with students regarding issues related to study and examination through his innovative ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ during January last. Such noble initiative should be broadened to frame implementable rules and regulations focusing the examination related menaces to avoid any unwanted incidents in future. I wish a good luck to all students.