Internal, entrance exam surveys: FYJC aspirants remain confused

The state education department’s move to conduct surveys asking students and schools for feasibility of internal assessments and entrance exams for Class 10, and first-year junior college (FYJC) admissions has created confusion in the absence of clear guidelines from the department

The state education department’s move to conduct surveys asking students and schools for feasibility of internal assessments and entrance exams for Class 10, and first-year junior college (FYJC) admissions has created confusion in the absence of clear guidelines from the department.

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More than two weeks after the Maharashtra government declared the cancellation of SSC (Class 10) exams in the state, the education department on May 9 asked schools to fill out a survey form indicating whether or not marking students on internal assessments will be feasible. The department has also sent out another survey form asking for feedback on the conduct of entrance exams for FYJC, a plan that it has been mulling over the past few days after receiving suggestions to that effect.

More than 83% schools are prepared for internal assessments, while over 66% students are ready for entrance tests, said an official So far, the education department has got responses from over 19,000 schools and more than 2.73 lakh students and the last date to submit is May 11.

Schools said that while they have been asked to fill out the forms indicating their preparedness, it has led to further panic among students as they do not know what decision will be ultimately taken for marking and admissions to junior colleges. “The government cannot ask students who have studied for an entire year for their boards if they can give an entrance exam now for admissions to colleges. Students are not prepared for it and even if they agree to undergo these exams, there is a lot of uncertainty around what their syllabus will be and how they will be conducted. The government should first come up with a decision basis its consultations with stakeholders such as schools, experts and students, instead of creating further confusion,” said the principal of a suburban school.

Officials at the education department claimed that a majority of students and schools have said that such a format is feasible.

Many however questioned the survey methodology and said its results cannot be trusted. “It is an open Google form which anyone can fill and one has no idea whether the people filling it are from schools,” said a teacher.

Meanwhile, the BMC education committee in its meeting held on Monday discussed the need to stay prepared for vaccinating students as and when guidelines with regards to come from the Centre and state. “We’ll also have to ensure that all teachers and staff are vaccinated in coming days,” said Sainath Durge, member of BMC education committee.