State Education Policy: move to scrap board exam for Class XI faces criticism
Taking to social media, D. Ravikumar, VCK MP, expressed concern that the move would not only adversely affect higher secondary education but also bring down the quality of higher and vocational education.
While Mr. Ravikumar did not put forth any argument in support of his point of view, E. Balagurusamy, former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University, said the move would affect prospects of students appearing for entrance exams such as the NEET and JEE since these followed the curriculums of both Classes XI and XII. Performance of Tamil Nadu students in these competitive exams improved after the introduction of the Class XI Board Exam, he observed.
However, Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary, State Platform for Common School System-Tamil Nadu, welcomed the cancellation of the Class XI Board Exam, stating it did not provide any breathing time for students pursuing higher secondary education. In response to criticism that schools would be encouraged to skip the Class XI syllabus altogether, he said that it was the duty of the Chief Education Officer and the District Education Officers to ensure the curriculums were followed in every class. He added that the SEP speaks of introducing continuous formative assessment for students but was silent on appointment of teachers to permanent posts.
Mr. Babu was also critical of the provision to create what he called a 'multi-track schooling system' by starting a set of 'Schools of Success' (Vetri Palligal), in addition to the already existing model schools. He said it went against the spirit of equitable education introduced by the previous DMK government through the Samacheer Kalvi scheme (Uniform System of School Education) and was in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution.
The proposed board exam reforms highlighted in the Policy stated that the cancellation of the Class XI boards would 'help reduce examination-related stress, encourage deeper subject understanding and ensure students are better equipped for the Class XII board examination'. The proposal seeks to 'assess conceptual understanding, application, problem-solving, and creativity' of students, touching upon higher aspects of Bloom's Taxonomy, a pedagogical tool to classify learning objectives.
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