It was the poor performance of government schools in Chandigarh that led to a massive drop in pass percentage in the Class-10 exams conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the results of which were declared on Tuesday.
District Education Officer (DEO) Anujit Kaur on Wednesday revealed that 50% of 10,890 students who appeared for the exams from 89 government schools in the city didn’t manage to obtain the passing marks.
Meanwhile, private schools too saw a drop in pass percentage, pushing the UT at the bottom in Panchkula region and much below the national average.
Leaving behind top government schools, Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 44, has recorded 97 pass percentage. Only eight other schools have a pass percentage above 80%.
The DEO said all schools that recorded more than 10% drop in results in comparison to the previous year will be put on show-cause notice. She also called a meeting of school principals and raised concern over the poor show.
“Majority of those who flunked had compartments in one or two subjects,” she said. “I have already issued orders, asking principals to hold special sessions for them during summer holidays in June so that they are well prepared before reappearing for exams in July.”
{{/usCountry}}“Majority of those who flunked had compartments in one or two subjects,” she said. “I have already issued orders, asking principals to hold special sessions for them during summer holidays in June so that they are well prepared before reappearing for exams in July.”
{{/usCountry}}The education department will also introduce term-based evaluation in government schools. The entire syllabus will be uniformly divided into two to three parts and common question papers will be supplied to all schools from Class 1 to 10,” said DEO.
‘Annual exam revival hit results’
The board exams were revived after seven years. From 2010, the exams were made optional with the introduction of continuous and comprehensive Evaluation (CCE).
CBSE local councillor Madhu Bahl said in the new grading system, assessment of students’ performance was done within schools. “This not only made the students complacent, but many schools also indulged in manipulations for better results,” said Bahl.
With the CBSE restoring the old annual exam system, wherein 80% of the assessment in based on the final exam, the reality is out, she said.
During the period the grading system was in place, the pass percentage in the UT never dropped below 90%. Last year, it stood at 96.3% as compared to 66.2 this time.
DEO Anujit Kaur said under the CCE, no student failed till Class 8 and thereon there was grade-based marking in Classes 9 and 10, mostly by class teachers.
“The students were not mentally prepared when the old system was restored. Teachers too did not wake up on time,” she said.
Meanwhile, sources in the education department said other factors also led to the poor showing by government schools. For instance, many schools don’t have regular schools heads while more infrastructure and teachers are required in periphery schools.