Role of PSC and JSC exams

The achievement of universal participation in education is dependent on quality of education. For example, how well pupils are taught and how much they learn can have a crucial impact on how long they stay in schools and how regularly they attend. Furthermore, whether parents send their children to schools at all is likely to depend on judgments they make about the quality of teaching and learning provided, also on whether attending school is worth the time and cost for their children and for themselves.
In 2014 some 26 lakh 83 thousands 781 students sat for the Primary School Certificate (PSC) exams. The combined pass rate in the PSC in 2014 is 97.92 per cent, which breaks down as girls 97.97 per cent and boys 97.88 per cent. In the PSC and its equivalent examinations, some 224,411 students secured the highest grade-GPA 5 (grade point average 5). Under eight general education boards, 17.29 lakh students sat for the JSC exams in 2014. The pass rate is 90.41 per cent, which is 0.47 per cent higher than previous year's. A total of 1,36,945 class-VIII students secured GPA-5, the highest grade point average. The pass rate in Junior Dakhil Certificate (JDC) examinations is 93.50 percent.
 Is the quality of education increased in such a hundreds and thousands of GPA-5 through PSC and JSC? The ground reality is that the students who came out successfully from these competitive exams cannot prove their depth knowledge in other competitive exams like university admission test. In was found that most of the HSC level GPA-5 holder students failed in English part of honours admission test at Dhaka University in 2014. At last university authority minimised the qualifying requirement for admission. So what is the outcome from such a hundreds and thousands of GPA-5 through PSC and JSC? It is time to rethink what we really want:  quality or quantity?
The instrumental roles of schooling - helping individuals achieve their own economic, social and cultural objectives and helping society to be better protected, better served by its leaders and more equitable in important ways - will be strengthened if education is of higher quality. Schooling helps children develop creatively and emotionally and acquire the skills, knowledge, values and attitude necessary for responsible, active and productive citizenship. How well education achieves these outcomes is important to those who use it. Accordingly, analysts and policy makers alike should also solve the issue of quality.
Quality education is not only important in reducing poverty but also a key to wealth creation and can promote a country from one economic bracket to the next and skills are the key way in which education reduces poverty. What does quality mean in the context of education? Many definitions of quality in education exist, testifying to the complexity and multifaceted nature of the concept. The terms efficiency, effectiveness, equity and quality have often been used synonymously. Considerable consensus exists around the basic dimensions of quality education today. Quality education includes:
n Learners who are healthy, well-nourished and ready to participate and learn, and supported in learning by their families and communities;
n Environments that are healthy, safe, protective and gender-sensitive, and provide adequate resources and facilities;
n Content that is reflected in relevant curricula and materials for the acquisition of basic skills, especially in the areas of literacy, numeracy and skills for life
n Processes through which trained teachers use child-centred teaching  approaches in well-managed classrooms and schools and skilful assessment to facilitate learning and reduce disparities;
n Outcomes that encompass knowledge, skills and attitudes, and are linked to national goals for education and positive participation in society
Like previous years, the same renowned schools in the urban areas, especially in Dhaka, came up on the chart of the best schools. Seventeen of the top 20 schools --in terms of the number of registered students, GPA-5 holders and pass rate --are from Dhaka city. The three others are from Chittagong, Comilla and Khulna. Urban students do better because they have more access to private tuition and go through extensive classroom activities. A huge number of rural schools lack infrastructure and efficient and trained teachers, which is why their students do not do well in the terminal exams. Besides, guardians in the urban areas are more conscious and spend more on their children's education.
Government primary and secondary schools are not capable enough to compete the race though it has all modern amenities and opportunities. On the other hand schools affiliated with Primary Training Institute (PTI) saw more than 99.84 percent of their students pass the exams this year while the success rate of government primary schools that have adequate infrastructure and other facilities is 98.30 percent. In this juncture, co-curricular activities like dance, singing songs, reciting poems and drawing can be a greater alternative to achieve quality education.
In the recent past, a serious concern was raised that the quality and curriculum of our primary, secondary and higher secondary studies do not effectively serve the goals of human development and poverty eradication. Lack of qualified teachers and poor school facilities in terms of the number of schools, classrooms, libraries and playgrounds are responsible for poor quality education at these levels. The traditional and dominant way of teaching in most schools tends to focus on memorising facts instead of developing analytical, practical or vocational skills. Therefore, mere access to free primary schooling for poor children is not sufficient to ensure that they will do well enough to be able to compete successfully in today's competitive market.
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a triennial international survey which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year old students in science and mathematics. According to PISA report, Finland is international leader for education. For the last one decade Finland is ahead than any other country in the world in the realm of their unique education system. In Finland, no child is sent to school before seven years old. Examinations and homeworks are not applicable for children before the age of thirteen. Where do we stand in comparison with the above three indicators?
PISA also finds that students who attend schools whose student body is predominantly composed of advantaged students, and students who attend schools located in urban areas reported spending more time doing homework than students who attend schools with a more disadvantaged student body and schools located in rural areas. One good way to make sure that homework does not perpetuate differences in performance that are related to students' socio-economic status is for schools and teachers to encourage disadvantaged students to complete their homeworks. This could involve providing facilities at schools so that disadvantaged students have a quiet, comfortable place to work, and/or offering to help parents motivate their children to finish their homework before going out with friends or surfing the web.
The outcomes of education should be assessed in the context of its agreed objectives. They are most easily expressed in terms of academic achievement (sometimes as test grades, but more usually and popularly in terms of examination performance), though ways of assessing creative and emotional development as well as changes in values, attitude and behaviour have also been devised. Other proxies for learner achievement and for broader social or economic gains can be used; an example is labour market success. It is useful to distinguish between achievement, attainment and other outcome measures - which can include broader benefits to society.
Quality should be given more importance than quantity. Formative assessment is better for our innocent children than summative assessment. We all should focus on providing more quality teachers who will have deep mastery of both their subject matter and pedagogy.  Competence of teachers and efficiency of schools are essential in this regard. Professional development can help overcome shortcomings that may have been part of teachers' pre-service education and keep teachers abreast of new knowledge and practices in the field. Continuing support for student-centred learning should be promoted.
The writer is Assistant Secretary (Fire and Safety) and ILO accredited OSH Trainer, email: rajonbkmea@gmail.com