A recent decision of the Quality Improvement Programme (QIP) monitoring committee to entrust schools with preparation of question papers for the Onam examinations for the respective higher secondary classes has drawn flak, with teachers’ organisations alleging that it will affect the conduct of terminal examinations that have a uniform character, not to mention students’ performances.
The Onam examinations will be held from August 16 to 24.
At present, the question papers, prepared in English and Malayalam, are given to students in a booklet form.
The question papers help students in preparing for the public examinations with patterns of questions and time management. In question papers that were not uniform, the weightage given to portions and that for students with varying levels of achievement could be compromise, they said.
The scheme of work for this year was given to teachers by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) last year. Two months into the session, teachers have now come to know that the first chapter of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) history textbook has to be taught in the second term, the Kerala Higher Secondary Teachers’ Union said in a statement on Thursday.
Also, schools may face heavy financial burden in printing question papers in two languages. This could end up being passed on to students too.
It was also strange that the QIP monitoring committee that dealt with academic matters of students till Class 10 took a decision on printing higher secondary question papers in schools. At a time when gains of school merger were being touted, the General Education department was unable to print a uniform question paper for higher secondary classes, the KHSTU alleged.
The Federation of Higher Secondary Teachers’ Associations (FHSTA) has written to Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty that stepping back from preparation of question papers was a serious lapse on the part of the department.
The department was preparing the question papers for Classes 1 to 10 but not Plus Two students who had to appear for public examinations at the end of the academic year. This would affect the conduct of the terminal examinations and lower academic standards.
Earlier, teachers organisations’ academic counsellors prepared the question papers and gave it to schools at low rates. But for the past seven years, the department had taken over this job.
To withdraw from it this year and issue a circular asking principals not to use question papers prepared by teachers’ organisations led one to suspect that it was aimed at helping the private question paper lobby. The department should come forward to prepare question papers for the Onam examinations like it used to do, the FHSTA said in its representation to the Minister.
