The State government’s decision to consider internal assessment scores while allocating marks to Class X SSLC students, has many schools in a fix. Teachers and management members pointed out that not all students were able to complete internal assessments this academic year as they were unable to attend physical classes during the brief window that they were held on campuses.
The Department of Public Instruction had instructed schools to conduct two formative assessments as part of internal assessment instead of the four formative assessments, which is the norm. However, many schools were unable to hold that as not all students could attend physical classes. “In such cases, teachers are confused about how students should be evaluated,” said D. Shashi Kumar, General Secretary of Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka.
According to H.K. Manjunath, president, High School Assistant Masters’ Association, students, particularly in government and aided schools, had not attended or submitted a single internal assessment. “We will be marking and indicating that such students were absent. The government can take a final call on what needs to be done,” he said.
Students will have to appear for the SSLC examination next month and sit for two multiple choice question papers carrying 40 marks in each subject. In five subjects, marks will be adjusted to 80, while internal assessments will be given a weightage of 20 marks. The first language paper will be converted to 100 marks, with 25 marks allocated for internal assessment. This brings the total maximum marks to 625.
However, a government school teacher said that schools are usually lenient when it comes to allocating internal assessment marks.
“Even students who normally find it difficult to score 35% marks are given full marks for their internal assessments as their own teachers evaluate them,” she said.
A senior official of the department said that all students will be given a minimum of 35% marks and be deemed as pass if they appear for the examination. “Schools should devise ways in which they can assess students in some form and add it under the internal assessment column,” the official said.