Here is what top academicians in Barak Valley had to say about SEBA’s decision to implement NEP

The pass percentage of the HSLC, better known as the Matric examination conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) has shown a downward trend in five years. In 2022, the pass percentage was at a record low of just 56.49 per cent. Whereas in 2021 the percentage skyrocketed from 64.80 in 2020, to 93.10.

The examination for the current batch of students is just 3 months away and this year, the question pattern has also been changed by the SEBA. The four compulsory subjects including English, General Mathematics, General Science and Social Science will have 50% MCQs keeping in accordance with the National Education Policy.

Many believe this change is being made as a gradual shift towards the new education policy, while others say this is to get the change in the graph of pass percentage. Educationists are of divided opinion about the impact of this change. While some anticipate change in pass percentage for the better, others fear this will reduce the comprehensive capacity of the students.

Barak Bulletin reached out to the renowned academicians of the valley to know their opinion on how it will impact the students at large and the following are the edited excerpts from their expert opinion.

Prof. Dilip Chandra Nath, the former Vice Chancellor of Assam University even though supports the existing system, has welcomed this change and said, “If a student doesn’t study the books thoroughly, they won’t be able to answer 50 per cent of the questions in this new pattern. Even though it is a positive change but 50 percent of objective-type questions are slightly unnecessary. It must be ensured that there is no mass copying otherwise, the whole system fails. It is usual for students to go to the bathroom and exchange answers as the pattern is just objective and there is just one right answer for such questions. One thing that can be done to avoid this “supply” of answers is introducing multiple sets so that the questions are not similar for everyone and also the order of questions is different. If the weightage of this pattern of questions were less that would have been better I believe because our students are gradually losing their expressive quality and they can’t write narratives or literature properly. That is a problem”.

When asked how this will place the pass percentage, Prof. Nath added, “If there is supply of answers outside, the pass percentage might increase as well but if it increases even after giving protection like multiple sets and measures to stop copying then we will understand that our students have actually studied”.

Ratan Paul, the Principal of Narsingh Higher Secondary School said, “This will straightly impact the pass percentage” and added, “it should improve for the good as students will have options. If one answers 35 questions from the objective section and another 30 marks from the other section then they will pass decently. Gradually we will move towards the ultimate implementation of the New Education Policy, this is just a small step. In the next two years, the question pattern is supposed to change even more”.

Tapodhir Bhattacharjee, author and former Vice Chancellor of Assam University in this regard opined, “The New Education Policy needs to be understood in its entirety first, it is a very complex policy and it is being implemented without considering many grounds. In fact, NEP is being implemented without taking into confidence the teachers or the students. It is being implemented without considering whom it impacts and how it impacts. No educationists were consulted anywhere in the whole nation.”.

The schedule of matric examination was released on December 8 and the exam starts from March 3, 2023. It remains to be seen how the students react to the new question pattern and how it will impact their scores in the examination but one thing that is for sure is SEBA must take measures to avoid any chance of mass copying during the examinations for the objective type questions.