Performance of students almost becomes surreal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It took nearly one-and-a-half decade for the consecutive governments to remove the hated term 'moderation' from the dictionary of school education. The confidence with which the current education minister C Raveendranath announced the total 'banishment' of the term from school education thus demands a close look at the achievement.
"Evaluation of the answer papers was carried out strictly. No extra marks, including moderation, were given to students. The marks the students got are the marks they deserved,'' the minister said, adding that the rejuvenation of public education system under the LDF government was one of the reasons that brought the added glory to this year's SSLC result. After a slight dip, the pass percentage has increased by two percent, compared to last year.

But critics would even say that the nearly 100 percent pass has taken a 'hard toll' on several banks and institutions such as Kerala State Electricity Board. "Only those who failed SSLC are eligible to apply for the post of mazdoor. Same is the case with the sweeper post in many nationalised banks. Since almost everybody clears the SSLC examination, it's increasingly becoming a headache for recruiters," they claim. Of course, such arguments hold no water as the recruiters are supposed to up the qualification bar than finding fault with the improved situation.

Let's have a close look at how moderation was weaned off from SSLC evaluation system. There is only one examination a day and there are 10 subjects. Students have multiple choice of questions and it's the initiative taken for answering a question that gets the traction. Maximum marks for the subjects English, Social studies and Mathematics are 100 each and the remaining seven subjects have a maximum of 50 marks to score. Of the total 650 marks, 130 marks come from Continuing Evaluation (CE) process. For subjects having a maximum score of 100 marks, written examination would be for 80 marks and for subjects with maximum 50 marks, the written exam is for 40 marks each.

"Earlier, we were instructed that nobody should be given maximum marks for CE. But, of late, 95% of students are given full marks. Instead of giving any specific set of tasks, the CE mark is given to activities in which the students prove they are adept. One such task is collection of newspaper headlines," said a school teacher who was part of the SSLC answer paper evaluation team.

In order to become eligible for higher studies, ie, D+ grade, candidates are supposed to score 30% marks, ie, 15 marks out of total 50. They are assured of the 10 marks from CE. Thus, a candidate is supposed to score only five marks in written examination to become eligible for winning D+. "It's a bit complicated. No student is assessed for the answer s/he writes. Instead, it is the initiative that is getting appreciated," said another teacher.