Sir,
In Odisha, the education system needs complete overhauling to be at par with the other Boards. This year’s pass percentage of HSC (Matriculation) examination in our State was 76.23%, indicating that more than 24% of the students could not clear their tests in spite of the adoption of best of five subjects some years back. I think that apart from changing the textbooks, the Government should also make sure that the pattern of question setting should be such that it sparks critical thinking and reasoning among students and the ability to comprehend in their own languages. The pass percentage of other Boards crosses minimum 80%, but in the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Odisha, it remains less than 77%. Here when compared to other Boards we are still lagging behind.
The textbook is only a medium to pass on information to the students; but apart from that, the setting of question papers and the evaluation system should be student-friendly to enable them to come at par with students of other Boards. The percentage earned by the students matter the most both for job prospects and for getting admission in quality institutes. Hence, proper initiatives should be adopted by taking a cue from other Boards with regards to the evaluation system so that students of BSE, Odisha, are not deprived of their rights. K Ravi, E-237, GGP Colony, Bhubaneswar-751025, MOB: 9437616497