NEW DELHI: The education ministers of most States pressed for restoration of the examination system for every class that was abolished under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, asserting that the formal assessment of students is critical for their academic growth. They also pressed for restoration of the Class X board examination.
They raised the demands during the closed-door consultation organised here on Saturday by the Human Resources Development Ministry on the proposed new National Education Policy that will replace the outdated 1986 document.
HRD Minister Smriti Irani, who chaired the meeting, assured that there would be more consultation and the States’ viewpoints will be accommodated in the new policy.
Education ministers from 22 states attended the meeting and a majority of them objected to the current provision under the Right to Education (RTE) Act barring detention of students in any class up to Class VII on ground of poor performance. The RTE Act is applicable to students from 6 to 14 years of age that disallows the annual examination except in Class VIII.
The draft national education policy circulated to the States sought their views on 33 issues – 20 on higher education and 13 on the school education. The States were happy that the Centre has itself expressed a view that the continuous comprehensive evaluation system of annual exams was a better way to judge the performance of the students. Many education ministers pointed out that most private schools rather conduct three to four exams during an academic year only to ensure the academic progress of the students and as such promoting students without exam was telling upon the quality of education.
A HRD Ministry official said the government is in no hurry to rush with the new policy as it has sought views from the States up to October, after which there will be zonal consultations and then the national consultation. The policy will be finally cleared by the Central Advisory Board of Education, according to School Education Secretary Vrinda Sarup.
