SSC cancellation: Unfair to have single formula for marking, say schools, students

As the state education department is yet to announce the marking criteria for Class 10 (SSC board) students in the state, there is a concern among students and teachers that a single criterion for marking might not do justice to all students as there is no uniformity in the format for internal assessments across schools

As the state education department is yet to announce the marking criteria for Class 10 (SSC board) students in the state, there is a concern among students and teachers that a single criterion for marking might not do justice to all students as there is no uniformity in the format for internal assessments across schools.

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In a recent survey conducted by the Maharashtra State Council of Educational Research and Training (MSCERT), it was found that schools have assessed students between Class 8 and 10 in many different ways- using Whatsapp based assessments, through online sessions and tests, offline exams and workbooks and worksheets. Teachers said that in the absence of uniform evaluation criteria, it will be difficult to mark students on a single formula.

For instance, many schools which reopened for offline classes in November 2020 and conducted sessions until April 2021 have evaluated students based on offline exams, conducted in the school and strictly supervised by teachers. The principal of a school in Chandrapur said, “In our region schools had reopened and we conducted offline exams. Our students sincerely wrote these papers and there was vigilance to see that there is malpractice. But in places where students gave tests online, there was no way to check malpractices. How can one evaluate these two sets of students on the same criteria?”

With the rising Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra and the resultant lockdown, the state government decided to cancel Class 10 SSC exams in the state that was earlier scheduled to be held in June. The department is yet to announce the formula for assessments. Students said that they are getting more worried by the day. “There is no decision almost a month after the announcement of the cancellation of exams. We cannot even estimate how much and how well we will score because we do not know what marks will be calculated, to begin with,” said Shweta Wagh, a Malad-based student.

Officials from the education department said a decision in this respect will be announced soon.