Goa: Class X English paper emerges as a gift that keeps on giving

PANAJI: A day after the Goa Board’s Class X English paper went viral for including a conversation that suggested that seeking a Portuguese passport is a good option due to the lack of job opportunities in Goa, teachers and politicians pointed out that that wasn’t the only controversial and judgmental part of the question paper.
In the first question of Section A, a passage mentions two friends who go sailing and get caught in a storm. Left with only one plank to hold on to for survival, both friends debate which one of them should let go. The passage then proceeds to suggest that the unmarried friend chooses death, as he has no wife or child to support.
Former Goa Board chairperson P R Nadkarni said that the unsaid rules of paper setting require that such unpleasant and judgemental passages be avoided. “There are some rules of paper setting, and not all of them are written down in black and white,” he said. “It is understood that anything that can lead to controversy in terms of caste or ethnicity, and social or political commentary, should be avoided. The chief paper setter serves as the editor of question papers, and it was his duty to see that anything controversial was avoided as per the guidelines.”
In question 7C, students were asked to rewrite a given sentence by nominalising the underlined verb, but the verb was not underlined as suggested. Goa Board chairman Ramkrishna Samant said that this was a printing error. Already, the board has referred another six-mark question to its scrutiny committee after students pointed out that it was not mentioned how many of the options provided needed to be answered.
A passage provided as part of question 3, which attempted to speak about avoiding narcotics, used a bizarre analogy. “It is dangerous to try tobacco products, alcohol or narcotics to rid ourselves of depression. They will only add insult to injury. It will be like pouring diesel to put out the fire of depression,” the passage read.
Another statement in a question read “Corruption has affected Goans in Goa”, and asked students to change the voice of the sentence. Former Panaji MLA and BJP spokesperson Sidharth Kuncalienker objected to this. “Is @goacm @DrPramodPSawant led @BJP4Goa agreeing that “Corruption has affected Goans in Goa? (Another sentence on the same SSCE paper) R v being portrayed as corrupt society??” he tweeted, tagging the PMO.
In question 7A, students were asked to fill in the blanks with a suitable word and were provided with a statement which read “Modern education has failed...”. Another question stated that panchayats should not be given more powers as they may be misused. Yet another stated “Going for tuition has become a fashion and matter of pride for some parents”.
Meanwhile, Samant said that with regards to the controversial question with commentary on unavailability of jobs in Goa, the process of inquiry has been initiated against the paper setter and others involved. “Any action like issuing of notices will take three to four days,” said Samant.
An English teacher, Vrushali Kelekar, posting on social media, objected to the question paper. “It is the moral duty of a teacher to support a healthy mindset in young teenagers. I wonder what the paper setter was thinking while setting the paper. I also wonder what the teacher in charge of proofreading was doing,” she wrote.