SHILLONG: Results of the SSLC examinations conducted by the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBoSE) might be usually identified with scenes of jubilation and cheerfulness as far as the students’ community of the city is concerned, but the euphoria does not reflect the real story. A look at the overall pass percentage over the years ironically reveals that the figures have not touched the 60 per cent mark since the last five years.
The overall pass percentage of 54.10 this year was not much different from the previous years.
Although Shillong is often tagged as the educational hub of the region, the general view remains that the educational system in the State is not comprehensive enough to equip students with the mastery to face competition outside the comfort zone of Meghalaya. Moreover, shoddy foundation at the grassroots has its ramifications in later years of school.
The Shillong Times spoke to a few noted figures of the State on ways to improve the SSLC pass percentage and the overall educational scenario.
Commenting on the issue, TR Laloo, Controller of Examinations said, “If we need improvement, we need to have a strong foundation. To expect students to perform better at class IX and X is like expecting too much, as without a good foundation the same is not possible.”
He added that the pass percentage cannot be improved in a day as it takes a lot of effort.
“The stakeholders should work together to improve the system at the grassroots level,” he said even as he observed that the urban-rural divide contributes to the low pass percentage in the State.
“Shortage of teachers, poor infrastructure etc, put the rural students in a disadvantageous position,” he said.
“Some schools complain that students coming from rural areas with poor foundation are not aware of simple spellings and other basic knowledge. Without giving a proper foundation at the grassroots, clearing examinations later is difficult,” he observed.
Meanwhile, educationist MPR Lyngdoh felt that the results should have been better, considering that there was an internal assessment of 20 marks in place now, out of which students can easily secure 17-18 marks.
“The students should dedicate themselves to studies and not drop out of schools. I hope the results next year come out much better,” she added.
JACATAM organizing secretary, Babu Kular Khongjirem, however, felt that the pass percentage was not bad as compared to the previous years.
“We expect the results to be much better next year,” he said adding that the private candidates “did not perform well this time.”
KSU central body education secretary, Donald Thabah while admitting that the pass percentage has not been the greatest, advocated that the MBoSE syllabus be based on a national curriculum (NCERT pattern), to enable students to fare better in the competitive examinations.
He observed that the students of Meghalaya should be at par with their counterparts from other states as there are is stiff competition in every entrance examination, be it engineering, medical, management etc.
“As for the pass percentage, we hope it gets better in time. However, the increase in pass percentage will snowball into an unemployment crisis if vocational training is not imparted to the students. The need of the hour is job oriented courses,” he added.
