PANJIM: In a major decision, Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (GBSHSE) has rejected the proposal to allow failed students of Class IX and Class XI to be promoted to the next class.
The proposal, put forth before the Goa Board general body at its meeting on Tuesday, was turned down citing several reasons, including overburdening the students with additional academic curriculum.
“The proposal has been rejected by a majority of the members for a number of reasons. The members raised concern that if these failed students are promoted, they will not only have to prepare for another supplementary exam but also the class in which they are promoted,” GBSHSE chairman Ramkrishna Samant told Herald.
As per the proposal, students failing to clear Class IX and Class XI, despite answering supplementary exams, should not lose the year and have to repeat the class. Instead, the proposal recommended that these students be promoted and mandated to answer another supplementary, for the class they failed as well as Board examination.
“Instead of staying back at home or re-registering themselves in the class the students have failed, it provided an opportunity to
enrol themselves in Class X and Class XII. This would be subject to keeping their Board results on hold until they clear their previous class examination,” he stated, adding that on an average around 4,000 to 5,000 students from both classes fail.
In another proposal, the Board is set to introduce two new optional subjects for students of Class IX and Class XI from the next academic year. Samant revealed that Astronomy for Class IX and Basic Biotechnology for Class XI will be introduced as optional subjects from the coming academic year.
“We will set up a Board of Studies which will prepare instrumental materials for these subjects. If it is complete, the subjects will be included form the next academic year,” he added.
