Panel suggests bringing back ‘pass-fail system’

KOLKATA: Bringing back detention from Class V, three examinations in a year, holding annual examination in December and fixing pass marks at 30 are some of the proposals which have been drawn up by the five-member committee formed by the state government to examine the modalities of reintroducing detention in state schools.

The committee has submitted the report to school education department on Thursday. The state may continue with the no-detention policy or scrap it. A senior official of the school education department, however, said: “The detention system is set to be back from 2019-2020 academic session from Class V. This is one thing the state has agreed upon till now.”

Though the committee proposes to bring back detention from classes V to VIII, a senior official in the ministry of human resource development (MHRD) said the proposal may have to be altered.

“As per the provisions of the bill to amend the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which was passed in the Lok Sabha last week, states may choose to introduce detention in Classes V and VIII only. Bringing back detention in any other classes will require further amendment of the Act,” he said.

“The proposal, which has been drawn up by the committee, is in line with the government’s preference. However, how it will be implemented, needs to be seen,” added a senior official of the state school education department.

Keeping the pass marks at 30 and by suggesting to introduce three examinations every year, the committee wants students to be prepared for Madhyamik.

The question pattern in the examination will be multiplechoice type (MCQs) and in higher classes like VII and VIII, it will be a combination of shortanswer type questions as well,” said a source.

One thing which remained yet is how the government plans to introduce a second exam after holding remedial classes for two months when a student will fail in the annual examination. The HRD ministry has decided that students failing in the second exam as well will only be detained.

The panel is helmed by West Bengal University of Teachers Training Education Planning & Administration VC Soma Bandyopadhyay.

The other members are Avik Mazumdar, chairman of Syllabus Revamp Committee, Manik Bhattacharya, West Bengal Primary Education Board president, West Bengal Board of Secondary Education president Kalyanmoy Ganguly and school education department additional secretary Kaushik Haldar.