Good show in Class X exams : From marks to grades
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 28, 2024 -

Over 90 percent or to be more precise, 93.03 pass percentage and this is in line with the good showing put up by Class XII students who recorded an unprecedented 97.63 pass percentage, the results of which were announced some time back.

Congratulatory words are definitely in line for the students who have beaten all the odds to come out tops in probably one of the most-important exams during their student days.

In a significant departure, the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur (BOSEM) decided to do away with the ranking and marking system and instead of ranking students as per the marks scored, they have decided to go in for the Cumulative Grade Points Average (CGPA).

Tough to say how parents, the elders of the family and the students would have taken to the new system, but in one decisive move, BOSEM has decided that a difference of one or two or three or even five marks should not make much of a difference in spelling out the performance of the students, opting instead to bracket all students who have scored 91 to 100 in the Al bracket, 81 to 90 in the A 2 club and so on.

In short, a student who has scored 92 can be clubbed in the same category as the student who may have scored 94 or 95 or 96.

To comfort the more inquisitive and the 'fierce competitors,' the marks or percentage scored by the students may be calculated by multiplying the CGPA score with 9.5.

That is a student who has been given a CGPA score of 8.8 may calculate her average by simply multiplying 8.8 with 9.5.

Educationists and policy framers of the land may debate on whether opting for the CGPA method is desirable or not, but remember BOSEM is not the first to do away with the mark system and many years back, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had adopted this method.

One wonders how the new system would impact on how the different schools, which specialise in the Plus 2 stage, respond to the new marking system and what method may be adopted to attract who they think are the most promising students.

The freebies will be there on offer for the students, no doubt, but it would be interesting to see how the different schools adapt to the changed marking system.

One also wonders how long BOSEM will continue with the grading system and how well it has gone down with the students, but what is clear for the Imphal based newspapers is that there was no rush to the residences of the toppers to get their interview.

From marks to grade points and yes BOSEM has taken a significant step, but the question of importance is whether this would have any desirable impact on the people and the students.

Will the approach to the Class X exam bring a change ?

Doubtful, for one can expect to see the private tuition culture continuing.

Parents and elders of the family can be expected to line up at the residences of private tutors from early in the morning to drop and pick up their children and wards.

One can also expect to see more and more coaching centres springing up, especially coaching centres that specialise in preparing the young students for NEET, JEE etc.

Nothing wrong with this culture, as such, for it is a march towards bettering the future prospects of one's child but the focus should be on educating the young child, rather than be fixated on one or two competitive examinations.

Easier said than done, but a new approach to the education of one's young children is perhaps the need of the hour.

It is not only at the Class X or Class XII stage that one sees the craze for private tuition, but to many parents and guardians, private tuition has become a sort of a necessity to prepare the young children for their future and the rush to the residences of the better known private tutors starts from the time their children reach the Class V or VI stage.

To those who have the resources and the time, dropping and picking up their children from the coaching centre or residence of the tutor may not count for much, but not all parents are placed equally and it would help so much if questions are raised on why young students feel the need to go in for private tuitions.