This will be a record that will possibly remain for all time.
Though there is difference of seven percentage points on the lower side, the two results cannot be compared, mainly because the examinations held were very different in nature from each other. The only time in recent times before last year, the HSSC pass percentage had crossed 90 just once in 2016 when it had stood at 90.10. In that respect, this year’s percentage is high, but the circumstances surrounding it are also to be considered.
Last year, due to the pandemic-induced restrictions the public exams were cancelled and the results were declared after students were assessed based on objective criterion developed by the Board which allotted 40 per cent of the marks to the performance of the students in the Class XII pre-Board exams, 30 per cent of their Class XI final exams and 30 per cent marks on the best of the three Class X subject marks.
This year the final result was prepared taking into consideration the performance of the candidate in the first term exam wherein 50 per cent of the portion was examined, the second term exam where the student was assessed on the balance 50 per cent of the portion and the performance of internal assessment. This is unlike the past when students were assessed on the entire year’s portion in the final exam.
Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education is happy with the result as it is a higher percentage than of 2019 and 2020, but those were based on the final exam where the entire year’s portion made part of the exam. The board chairman stating that the improved result can be attributed to the new system and this has been extended for the next academic term 2022-23. Academics, however, will have to deliberate on whether this system of assessing students on just 50 per cent of the portion per exam is the best, especially at the Class XII level which is highly competitive and from which class students then branch out to professional courses of choice. Despite already having extended the system for the next academic year, Goa Board too should introspect on whether making it easier for students at this level works in their favour.
A high pass percentage is a reflection of successful teaching and quality assessment, but the leniency of the new examination system raises several questions of whether the achievement is something to crow about. Also, the syllabus had been curtailed to accommodate the online teaching, so students did have an advantage over those who had answered in previous years.
As suggested last year by Herald, it is perhaps time to relook at the system of evaluating students. We are currently grading students on their ability to recall the subject matter they have studied during the academic year. It may not be the best assessment of a student’s abilities. We have to look at what systems other countries are using to evaluate and assess their students. Educationists need to look at this objectively. The result matters, but the evaluation also has to be on par with the rest of the country. These students will compete in entrance tests with their batch mates from every other State, they have to be on the same level as those they are competing against.
