Education, Careers & Professional News
Class X Board Exam May Be Made Optional
Keeping exam-related stress primarily in view, the draft National Curriculum Framework (NCF) report 2005 has come out with some novel suggestions, including making Class X board tests optional, delinking school-leaving board examinations from entrance tests and a single nodal agency to conduct entrance examinations.
The report prepared by a committee of educationists, headed by former UGC Chairman Yashpal, also suggested that under no circumstances should board or other kinds of examinations be conducted at the level of class five, eight or eleven at block, district or state level.
Indeed, even the Class X examination can be made optional only for those who wish to continue to Class XI and others may receive a certificate from the school, the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) which drew up the draft after a nine-month exercise said.
There was a need to delink school leaving board examinations from competitive entrance examinations. These examinations could be made less stressful if students had to take fewer of them, said the draft.
The stress on pre-board examination must be reversed and strategies to enable children to opt for different levels of attainment should be encouraged to overcome the present system of generalised classification into `pass` and `fail` categories, it said. Observing that learning has become a source of burden on children, the draft proposed four guiding principles for curriculum development–connecting knowledge to life outside school, ensuring that learning shifts away from having to mug up textbooks, enriching the curriculum so that it goes beyond textbooks and making examinations more flexible.
The draft report would be presented for consideration at the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) at its meeting scheduled for June seven.
A single nodal agency could coordinate the design and conduct the examinations several times a year at centres located all over the country and monitor and ensure timely conduct and release of students` achievements.
The scores obtained by students through such a national testing service could be utilised by all institutions for the purpose of admitting students, the draft said.
Observing that examination reforms was an important component to reduce psychological pressure, particularly on children in class X and XII, the draft recommended changing the typology of questions so that reasoning and creative abilities replace rote learning as the basis of evaluation.
The NCF has recommended significant changes in school curriculum with a view to making education more relevant to the present day and future needs and in order to alleviate the stress children are coping with today.
It recommended softening of subject boundaries so that children could get a taste of integrated knowledge.
In addition, plurality of textbooks and other material, which could incorporate local knowledge and traditional skills, and a stimulating school environment responding to the child`s home and community environment were also suggested.
In language, a renewed attempt to implement the three language formula was suggested along with an emphasis on recognition of children`s mother tongues, including tribal languages as the best medium of instruction.
The NCF also draws attention to four other curricular areas – work, arts and heritage crafts, health and physical education and peace.
Peace as a pre-condition for national development and as a social temper was proposed as a comprehensive value framework which has immense relevance today in view of the growing tendency across the world towards intolerance and violence as a way to resolve conflicts.
The potential of peace education for socialising children into a democratic and just culture could be actualised through appropriate activities and judicious choice of topics in all subjects and at all stages.
Peace education as an area of study was recommended for inclusion in the curriculum for teacher education
Source: Online Resources