The new paper pattern for the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations – introduced in a bid to improve the “quality of education” – turned out to be a failed experiment, affecting the scores of students who gave the exam this year.

Starting this year, the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) decided to scrap oral examinations for languages and social sciences. As a result of this, students had to take a 100-mark written test in these subjects. Education department officials had said this was aimed at reducing the inflation of scores.

In the Mumbai division, the percentage of students passing English as a first language went down to 88.35% from 97.11% last year; while the pass percentage in social sciences went down to 84.75% from 94.91%. The number of students scoring 90% and above has gone down to 5,399 this year from 13,229 in 2018, while the number of schools recording a 100% success rate has gone down to 331 from 768.

Principals said that students found it difficult to score in languages. “So far, they had a chance to express what they learnt in languages during their oral exams. Now with grammar, comprehension and poetry becoming a part of theory, scoring became tough,” said Sudam Kumbhar, principal, Shailendra Education Society’s High School, Dahisar. Even as the school recorded a 100% result, the average scores have gone down, said Kumbhar.

Students also had to adjust to other changes: The education department revised the syllabus and changed the paper pattern to make it concept-based. “Many students struggled to complete the paper in time, as they were not used to the new paper pattern. If students were trained earlier, the transition would have been smooth,” said Uday Nare, teacher, Hansraj Morarji Public School in Andheri.

Sainath Durge, member of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) education committee and a core team member of Yuva Sena, said the government should scrap the new policy and go back to oral exams.

Bhiwandi paper leak: Results of 11 students withheld

The Mumbai divisional board has decided to withhold results of 11 students who were allegedly involved in the Bhiwandi paper leak until investigations conclude. “All of them have been barred from writing their exams for one or two sessions,” said Sharad Khandagale, secretary, Mumbai divisional board.

Two BMC schools record 100% success rate

Of the 13,563 students who had appeared for the SSC exams from civic schools, 7,208 passed the exam. A total of 12 students from BMC schools scored 90% and above, while two schools – Abhyudaya Nagar Municipal School in Kala Chowky and Gazdhar Park Municipal School in Santacruz – recorded a 100% success rate.

(With inputs from Musab Qazi)

First Published: Jun 09, 2019 00:58 IST