Minister for School Education Madhu Bangarappa reiterated that the board exams for classes 5,8,9, and 11 were held in the interest of students and the number of papers to evaluated in a day by each teacher was fixed considering teachers’ capacity.
Answering a question in a press conference in Shivamogga on Friday, Mr. Madhu Bangarappa said his department took the decision to conduct board exams only after consulting many experts. “The decision was taken in the interest of students. It will prepare the students for board exams in SSLC,” he said.
When asked about discrepancies in the evaluation of answer papers, the Minister maintained that the target was set only when it was easily achievable. “The process of holding board exams was disturbed because the private institutions moved the court. I don’t want to comment on the court’s order. We will go for an appeal,” he said. There were allegations that the evaluation of answer papers was completed in a hurry and each teacher was asked to evaluate 80 to 90 answer scripts in a day.
The Minister said that in the II PU, the pass percentage increased by 6 percentile points this time. The improvement was achieved as the department introduced practicals in languages as well. “Besides that, the students appeared for the exams with confidence, as they had opportunities to take up supplementary exams if they did not do well in the first attempt,” he said.
The Minister expressed happiness about the students who secured top ranks in II PU, appreciating the guarantee schemes like Gruha Lakshmi. “I felt happy to listen to such opinions about the guarantee schemes from the students. I had a role in drafting the party’s manifesto ahead of the assembly polls last year,” he said.
