Selling Out Education
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: March 18, 2013 -

The irony could not be missed and more pronounced!

On a day, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh was talking about the importance of paying attention to development in education sector for maintaining the growth rate in the country, the news of CBSE exam scam in Manipur has come about.

It’s simply astounding how the mind of some people really works to take advantage of any given situation to fill up their filthy private pockets with no regard of the consequences their misdeeds could have on the future of the society. This is exactly what is happening in the school-based examination system introduced by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in some schools in Manipur today.

Over the last few years, CBSE has come up with a slew of educational reforms with main focus on reducing stress and burden on students from the main year-end Board exam as well as to do away with the ‘chalk and talk method’ of teaching-learning process in class rooms through regular and continuous assessment of scholastic and co-scholastic activities of the learners for their all round development.

Interestingly, some of these same measures have been twisted to their own advantage by some school authorities and their ‘agents’ for minting money from that tribe of students and their parents in Manipur, who are always on the lookout for easiest means and ways to clear examination and get certified as educated.

Unlike the earlier pattern of taking only one examination at the end of the academic year, CBSE has introduced Continuous & Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) system in class IX and above for continuous assessment of the student’s learning process through four formative assessment tests and two summative assessment tests throughout the academic year.

The formative tests carrying 40 percent weightage of the total aggregate are suppose to assess the student’s work at class and home while summative tests of 3-hour long are to be conducted twice a year to assess the academic knowledge of the student.

So, the responsibility of the school authorities in the new system is of paramount importance and the success of the education reforms of CBSE would depend largely on how the school authorities utilize the responsibility given to them.

But from the emerging scenario in Manipur, it is becoming clear that some school authorities are trying to misuse this responsibility for converting education into a money-spinning enterprise in collusion with some middlemen who are out to prey on students and their parents, who as we have said, are on the lookout for shortest possible route to passing examination even if they have to shell out their hard earned money.

Relevant authorities should pay serious attention to this unhealthy trend in education to stem the rot from spreading out while there is still time.

By the way, in a system where marks count more than the merits of an individual, especially in Government recruitment, can really expect anything better?