The Directorate of Government Examinations (DGE) has clarified that all students of Class 10 will be promoted this year, irrespective of their marks in the half-yearly and quarterly examinations.
The clarification came amid concerns over the government’s earlier order announcing the cancellation of Class 10 public exams due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The order had said that marks would instead be calculated by giving 80% weightage to marks from quarterly and half-yearly examinations and 20% to attendance.
In a letter to all chief educational officers on Friday, the DGE said while the earlier order had explained how marks would be calculated, it had also made clear that students would be considered promoted, no matter the marks they had scored in the quarterly and half-yearly examinations. The letter added that the same would be applicable to Class 11 students for subjects for which exams could not be conducted. Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Graduate Teachers’ Federation expressed concerns over allegations that several private schools did not maintain proper records of half-yearly and quarterly examinations and were instead manipulating them .
P. Patrick Raymond, general secretary of TNGTF, said calculating marks based on marks of half-yearly and quarterly exams and attendance was not a good idea.
“The syllabus was changed last year. Students were bound to score less in the mid-term examinations,” he said. The association said that the government must consider doing away with marks and instead consider awarding grades this year.
The Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Association too has appealed to the State government to award grades to students of Class 10, instead of marks.
Some students might not have done well in the quarterly exams, but might have done better in half-yearly and revision tests, held closer to the end of the academic year, it pointed out.
The School Education Department must consider half-yearly evaluation and the three revision tests to arrive at their performance levels, said P.K. Ilamaran, president of the association.