There was a time when getting a distinction or a high first class was a matter of pride and celebration. Getting high marks was tough. Out of a class of say forty students who would have written the final examination,tenth or twelfth, a few may get first class. The scenario has completely changed today with pass percentage going up and students getting very high marks and the picture shows very rare cases where students get second classes as most of them get first class and distinction grades, thanks to leniency in evaluation and liberal mark awarding.
Getting a first class or marks above 90 was something of an achievement in the CBSE exams but not anymore today. As state boards started awarding marks generously to students CBSE kids found it very difficult to get seats in colleges and this in fact saw students moving away from CBSE syllabus after tenth which in a way prompted the board also to be lenient in its evaluation and to award high marks .Even in humanities and languages getting hundred percent is no more a wonder!
Though it is a matter of pride for the parents and the teachers as their children score high marks are they not being moulded into just mark scoring machines?
Sadly, today marks is all that matters and this results in cut throat competitions, study pressure and mental tension for the young .It is surprising to see that boards competing with one another to ensure that students get ‘abnormally high marks ‘. Even the pattern of questioning has changed. From incisive learning it has gone to just mere multiple choice questions and too many short answer type rather than focussing on questions that test students narrative skill and knowledge acquisition.
It is really sad to see how our educational system has declined. Achieving high marks affects the mentality of students during the time of admission to higher studies. Cut-off marks have today gone up so high that it has reached hundred per cent !
Today students are being moulded like SD cards who can input, store and output information in the desired format devoid of any creativity. The centre and the states are to be blamed for this plight. Mere changes in text books and implementing new curriculum every year through circulars will not be enough. Even though a lot of changes are being made and innovative steps are being taken its outcome is futile. A complete revamp is a must in the imparting of education, its assessment and evaluation and for that the academicians, professional experts, education ministry and all concerned authorities will have to put their heads together to raise the standard of education and it has to be done at the earliest. Education after all is not just scoring stupendous marks in the examinations. Generous mark and liberalised evaluation can result only in the degeneration of our educational system .
