In a bid to eradicate rote learning, the Delhi Government on Friday announced new guidelines for assessment of students. Now, school students in the national Capital will be assessed for the impact of the mindset curricula in their behaviour along with other scholastic subjects.
According to the new assessment guidelines of the Directorate of Education (DoE), students from Classes 3 to 8 will be assessed for the Happiness and Deshbhakti curricula, while students of Class 9 and Class 11 will be assessed for Deshbhakti and Entrepreneurship Mindset Curricula. However, students of Class 11 will have an additional criterion for assessment, which is their participation in Business Blasters.
The new parameters will be a supplement to the evaluation norms that already exist and are based on co-curricular and academic activities. The guidelines will, however, not be binding on private schools.
The Government has also directed schools to include assessment of students on the basis of their abilities to handle real-life situations along with scholastic and co-scholastic activities.
Announcing the new guidelines Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that students will not be evaluated on the basis of curricular knowledge, but rather on their ability to apply their understanding in a variety of real-life situations. “The need of the hour is that the schools must focus on the competency-based learning, which will equip the students to face real-life challenge,” he said. The Deputy Chief Minister further said the new assessment standards will also motivate students to contribute to society’s advancement. Further, no weightage of marks obtained will be calculated for the promotion of a student to the next class.
Further detailing the procedure of assessment, the Deputy CM added that question papers will be set in a manner where students will have to answer questions based on application of concepts of these curriculum in real-life/unfamiliar situations. Along with that, they will also have unique project works based on the curriculum.
“This new process of assessment will further strengthen the critical thinking and analytical abilities of the students. It will also help them get rid of the need for rote learning methods that create excessive and unnecessary stress on students during examinations,” he added.