Reading between the lines of the reactions from various quarters, it appears that some of the comparisons made are ludicrous. One such comparison is the 2.65 percentage point higher pass than the previous year's. This leads to the fundamental question of the education system followed at the secondary and higher secondary levels and the way merits of students are evaluated. That the entire education system is missing a reasonably uniform standard of teaching and opportunities for learning is glaringly exposed by the wide margin of pass percentages of different education boards and, sadly, by the zero pass in as many as 51 educational institutions this year. It is not special to this year. With a rise in or fall of the number of such institutions, this happens every year.
Financial solvency of parents or guardians, location of schools, colleges and marasahs, their facilities, teaching staff and management of the institutions are the determining factors. When certain educational institutions have to their credit the enviable results of cent per cent pass and grade point average (GPA) 5.0 scorers, their admission procedures, class teaching and above everything else private coaching play the defining role. Contrast this with the odds stacked against examinees from poor financial backgrounds and schools barely running with skeleton teaching staff some of whom have to teach subjects of different disciplines, in which their expertise is questionable.
The authorities of the education boards have sounded that they would serve show cause notices on the 'zero pass' schools and madrasahs. Some have questioned how those ---some of which do not even have the bare minimum infrastructure--- were granted accreditation. It seems the virus is in the antidote. Before the easy option of taking the school staff to task, let there be a scrutiny of how this approval was made in the first place. With outrageous disparities between conditions of educational institutions, any hope of comparable results is simply futile.
Now it would be better to concentrate on the kind of education offered and the destiny of passed out students. When the pass rate is in between 80 to 90 per cent at the SSC and HSC levels, why does it come down to as low as 10-12 per cent in university admission tests? When higher or lower scores depend on common or uncommon questions in exam papers, the weakness of the system is exposed. The system of merit evaluation by separate or aggregate numbers is fundamentally flawed in an equally flawed education system. Students are taught to learn by rote answers to some important questions selected through permutation and combinations from a pool of questions set in the previous years. Only in rare cases are they equipped with the knowledge that prepares them to independently write a precise, appropriate and comprehensive answer.
When they learn solution of mathematical and geometrical problems they must know in practical terms what the theories are based on and why. Once that ability is acquired, they are supposed to solve any problem of the same nature. Similarly, in subjects like Bangla and English, the evaluation ought to have indicated an examinee's use of languages in communication, descriptive and analytical performance with reference to correct grammatical usage and the level of literary appreciation and insight attained. Whether it is literature, mathematics, physical or biological science, history or geography, the knowledge has to be as much comprehensive as possible so that one does not have to get answers ready by tutors or coaching centres and learn by rote only to copy from memory.
Educationists have long felt the need for a paradigm shift in the education system and the evaluation process. Since eminent educationists are involved with the process, it could fulfil the need. But as it is the wont of the bureaucracy and the political expediency of politicians, they put the carriage before the horse. Without allocating enough fund for building facilities for poor and backward educational institutions at least to bring about a semblance of uniformity and developing a new crop of teachers capable of taking up the challenges, the introduction of the new education curricula is more likely to backfire than achieve the stated objective.
A follow-up study of the passed out batches of examinees of the SSC and HSC over a period until they start their careers could make interesting reading. Where do the more meritorious, the middle and lower ranked groups end up ultimately? To have an insight into their study-to-career journey is crucial to planning for young learners.
nilratanhalder2000@yahoo.com