Make a departure from traditional exams: Sarbananda Sonowal

GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal appealed to the school education boards of the country on Thursday to make a departure from the traditional style of conducting examinations to the most modern and advanced one for reliability and credibility.

Inaugurating the 47th annual conference of Council of Boards of School Education (COBSE) at Assam Administrative Staff College at Khanapara here on Thursday morning Sonowal urged the representatives of education boards assembled in the city to adopt the most modern and advanced technologies for conducting examinations and moulding the system to suit the changing needs all stakeholders examination boards.

The three-day-long annual conference of COBSE organized under the theme “Integrity in conduct of examinations” is being hoisted by the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (ASHEC) and the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA). Chairpersons and members of as many as 62 school boards and councils of the country along with foreign delegates and academicians have participated in the conference.

“Technology is one medium through which we could hold examinations in the most efficient and transparent manner. Many competitive examinations have experimented with the technological developments and this has yielded remarkable results”, Sonowal said.

Praising the role being played by the school boards in successfully and transparently conducting examinations over the years in the country, the Chief Minister said high school and higher secondary school leaving examinations have the most crucial and significant impact in the lives of the young generation. “These examinations not only determine their career but also induce them with a sense of purpose in life. Therefore, it is very important that members of COBSE display integrity, exemplary skill and diligence in conducting examinations so that faith of the people in the examination system gets reinforced,” Sonowal said.

Highlighting the need for incorporation of lessons on moral and spiritual values in the school curriculum for building a robust and socially responsible generation, Sonowal said it is the responsibility of the boards to see that the youth get a broader vision of nationalism during their school days.

Sonowal underlined Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for ‘Youth-led Development’ in the nation and advocated for adopting better strategy by the Boards for dispelling fear from the minds of students about examinations.

Speaking at the conference COBSE president Asano Sekhose, who is also the chairperson of the Nagaland Board of Secondary Education, said integrity in board examinations in the country is the basic necessity to ensure quality in examinations. He said that certificates of such exams must reflect overall development of the students.

AHSEC secretary Kamal Jyoti Gogoi said the council has decided to adopt various steps, including installation of signal jammers at sensitive exam halls, across the State to prevent students from cheating using cellphones and other such devices.

Coinciding the occasion, Sonowal also released three souvenirs and gave away prizes of quiz and essay writing competitions among students and school teachers.

While AHSEC Chairman Dr. Dayananda Borgohain delivered the welcome speech, the inaugural ceremony was also addressed by SEBA Chairman Dr. RC Jain.

Commissioner and Secretary of Education (Primary & Secondary) Department Pritom Saikia, Vice Chancellor of Cotton University Dr. Bhabesh Chandra Goswami, Secretary of Education (Secondary) Department Samsher Singh, Vice Chancellor of Kaziranga University Dr. PK Mishra and senior officials of the government were also present in the inaugural ceremony.

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