Manish Sisodia Calls for Discontinuation of Board Examinations After NEP Launch | Photo Credit: Representative Image
Senior Deputy Minister Manish Sisodia recommended on Thursday that after the implementation of the new National Education Policy (NEP), board exams for classes 10 and 12 be suspended.
Sisodia also suggested that the government should introduce classes in stages of several years and external evaluations at the end of each stage.
He made the suggestions during the 57th Meeting of the General Council of the National Council for Research and Training in Education (NCERT) chaired by the Union Minister of Education, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and attended by the state education ministers.
Sisodia noted that the ‘5 + 3 + 3 + 4’ model recommended in the NEP can reach its full potential if the existing one-year-per-grade system is eliminated.
“It means that instead of an existing class system where all the children in a class move together in all subjects despite being at different levels of learning, the multi-year stage will help the child move according to their learning needs. learning in different subjects at your own pace … Create a phased curriculum with a clearly stated learning objective in terms of knowledge, skills and values, “he said.
“Following the logic of the stage, after the full implementation of NEP, the board exam of classes 10 and 12 should also be discontinued. The existing board exams made sense in the 10 + 2 model but not in 5 + 3 + 3 + 4. Keeping two board exams in a final stage will dilute the importance of the first three stages in children’s school life, “he added.
Sisodia, who is also the Minister of Education of Delhi, noted that when the mandate of the National Testing Agency (NTA) is to conduct entrance examinations for admission to higher education institutions, there is no need for board examinations of the class 12.
“Therefore, the class 12 board exam should no longer be a high-stakes exam. It is high time that we introduce multi-year staged classes and external evaluations at the end of each stage, replacing the existing year classes. and the two exams in class 10 and 12, “he said.
The transformation must be holistic and not piecemeal. Instead of the existing class system where all children in a class move together in all subjects despite being at different levels of learning, the multi-year stage will help the child move according to their learning needs in different subjects to your own pace. We recommend a staged curriculum with a clearly stated learning objective in terms of knowledge, skills and values, “he added.
The NEP passed by the government last month replaces the 34-year-old National Education Policy framed in 1986 and aims to pave the way for transformative reforms in the school and higher education systems to make India a global knowledge superpower.
Teach up to Class 5 in native or regional language, reduce the risks of board examinations, a single regulator for higher education institutions except for law and medical schools, and common entrance tests for universities are part of the radical reforms in the NEP.
Replace the ’10 +2 ‘structure of school curricula with a’ 5 + 3 + 3 + 4 ‘curricular structure corresponding to the age groups of 3 to 8, 8 to 11, 11 to 14 and 14 to 18 years , respectively, eliminating M.Phil Programs and implementation of common standards for public and private higher education institutions are among other salient features of the new policy.
