Education is one of the top priorities in India. The UPA decided to make Class X CBSE Board Examinations optional. It had also decided to introduce a no-fail policy up to class VIII. The objective was to enable students to breathe the air of freedom at school and not prompted to drop out. However, this policy has had an unfortunate side-effect. It has resulted in a decline in learning outcomes in several states. These states have asked the Centre to withdraw the no-fail policy and make Class X CBSE exams compulsory. But will the fear of examinations improve learning outcomes? What is apparent is that the government has failed to implement Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) as mandated by RTE. It is not students who have failed and they should not be punished. It proves that the government is not all that serious about the vital area of education. Political parties come and go out of office and policies change. Assessment and accountability go awry. There has been a qualitative deterioration in the recruitment of teachers.
90% of aspiring teachers fail the Center’s Teacher’s Eligibility Test year after year. Teacher absenteeism is as high as 40% in the poor states. English teachers cannot speak English. Teachers’ recruitment is in a sorry mess. Before pondering over examinations, the quality of teachers should be in sharp focus. Critical thinking among teachers should be encouraged and ability in that area should be amply rewarded. What students need is not elimination of examinations. It is availability of good teachers and good jobs after the completion of their educational course.
