After studying the current examination system of passing students till Class VIII, the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Friday declared the process as “fail” and “unanimously” resolved to seek its examination by the Centre.
The decision to re-evaluate the system was taken by the House without any dissent at the onset of the question hour. The issue was earlier discussed by the House at two instances — a day before and also during the previous session held in March — but no concrete decision was taken in this regard despite majority of legislators maintaining that demotion of non-deserving students to the next class would promote the studies in the State.
After the House could not arrive at any decision after exhaustive debate by the members of both sides and having same view to do away with the system, Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal had asked Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema to come prepared with the solution of the issue at hand.
Soon as the question hour begun, the Speaker took up the question, discussed a day before, related to the system of no exam till Class VIII. Responding, Cheema recommended to move a resolution as education is in concurrent list and State has no power to amend the Central Act under which this system exist.
Cheema had, a day before, informed the House that as per Section 20, power to amend the schedule of Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, which is a Central Act, lies with the Central Government. The resolution, passed collectively, recommended the State Government to urge the Central Government to re-start in all the state’s government schools the old pattern of holding examination for Class I to VIII and also board examination of Classes V and VIII.
Besides, it added that the state government should also urge the Centre to promote only those students to the next class who “pass” these examinations. For the same, the House recommended the state government to urge the Centre to carry out required amendments in the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
Congress-led UPA government in 2010 has introduced the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) system, for secondary school students, when Kapil Sibal was the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) minister. The CCE was aimed at reducing stress levels by easing off academic pressure and evaluating the students on extra-curricular activities and life skills; thus ensuring a holistic assessment.
After facing complaints from various states that students had stopped studying with the “abolition of exams”, the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) had set up a panel of state education ministers, under Haryana Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal, to assess and implement CCE as a mid-term evaluation. The Committee, ready with its report, has reportedly recommended re-introduction of detentions in classes to address the decline of learning among the students.
Even Punjab’s former Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka, during discussion on the issue a day before, had pointed that the Committee formed to evaluate the system had recommended a change in the same and thus, the state can “take the help of the same report and pass the resolution and sent it to the Centre”.
The issue was raised on Thursday during the question hour by Congress MlA Tarlochan Singh Soond asking whether the state government can enact a separate law in this regard or whether any proposal of this sort is under government’s consideration.
He had argued that the “standard of education is falling in view of present law as per which students get promoted till Class VIII despite their poor academic performance”. Soond had suggested that to maintain the level of education, the earlier system of board exams at Class V and VIII should be reintroduced.
Seconding his opinion, many members of the treasury benches had too demanded re-introducing the system in order to have board examinations for fifth and eighth standard. They had opined that such a system would not promote students performing poorly in these classes to higher standard.
Intervening, the Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal had stated that it’s a very serious issue and future of lakhs of children lie on it. “On one hand, we have a system where tests are held from day one of even class I students, and on the other hand, no exams were held till class VIII…can’t we come up with old patternIJ” SAD MlA Pawan Kumar Tinu had demanded that next session should begin with the changed system.