Dr CR Kharlukhi
The Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBOSE) has constantly been in the news, from discrepancies in SSLC mark sheets to mathematics not being a compulsory subject at the secondary level, MBOSE has always been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. There has always been a question mark regarding the quality of the secondary and higher secondary school syllabus as well as the prescribed textbooks of MBOSE. However, not much has been said about the quality of the Board question papers of the SSLC and HSSLC examinations.
Being intrigued with the quality of the syllabus, textbooks and question papers of MBOSE, investigations have been carried out for science education at the secondary level and research was conducted in these specified areas for the higher secondary science stream and comparisons were made with those of the CBSE higher secondary science stream. Some of the major findings of the secondary science education investigations and the descriptive research on higher secondary science education will be shared here for the benefit of all stakeholders.
A well-constructed syllabus is supposed to have well-written objectives to guide textbook developers, teachers and evaluators to successfully achieve intended learning outcomes. Surprisingly, the higher secondary science syllabus of MBOSE followed till 2017, unlike the CBSE syllabus, did not have any objectives in its syllabus. Another critical component of a syllabus is the question paper design to direct evaluators prepare a balanced question paper to cover all areas of cognitive abilities of students to develop their critical thinking skills and to discourage rote memorization, two of the various features which have been strongly emphasised by the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005 as well as the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Interestingly, it was found that, unlike the CBSE syllabus, the higher secondary science syllabus of MBOSE did not include the question paper design. The absence of course objectives and question paper design were also found by Tron (2018) in the secondary science syllabus of MBOSE.
Based on the descriptive research conducted, it was found that the MBOSE textbooks used till 2017 for the higher secondary science stream, had similar content with that of the NCERT textbooks followed by CBSE. However, the main differences found between the MBOSE textbooks and that of the NCERT textbooks include the absence of a Textbook Development Committee and the non-inclusion of practising teachers in textbook development of MBOSE. Additionally, MBOSE did not encourage the use of e-resources and local resources were not given importance; contribution of scientists was not highlighted, use of students’ previous knowledge was absent and science process skills were not encouraged. Thus, the absence of course objectives has greatly impacted the quality of the higher secondary science textbooks of MBOSE. The shift to CBSE syllabus and NCERT textbooks since 2018 is therefore a welcome move by MBOSE.
With regards to the MBOSE science secondary textbooks, the investigation on the activities and experiments of the present textbooks of Classes IX and X revealed that the development of science processing skills was not given importance whatsoever. In almost all the activities and experiments given in the textbooks, the observations and conclusions were already provided in the textbook which left no room for students to think, to reason and to draw inferences on their own. This goes against the ideals of the NCF 2005 and the NEP 2020 which aimed for inculcation of critical thinking, creativity and innovation in students.
Additionally, a study by Tron (2018) on the secondary textbooks of MBOSE revealed that the content of physics, chemistry and biology were given separately which was a non-compliance of MBOSE to the NCF 2005 guideline to make the learning of science composite at the secondary stage. Tron also found that locally available resources to supplement materials for activities in the secondary science textbooks were not provided by the authors. Therefore, it is evident that the absence of course objectives in a syllabus affects the textbook development process. It is troubling, therefore, to know that students at the secondary level of MBOSE are still using very low-quality textbooks.
Now we come to the question papers. Based on the research conducted, it was found that between 2014 and 2018, the question papers of the MBOSE Higher Secondary Science Stream, unlike the CBSE question papers, stressed more on lower order thinking skills and less on the higher order thinking skills. The highest order objective that was tested in all the science subjects was the application objective with very few analytical questions. These findings were similar to the findings of Nongkhlaw (2013) who conducted the study on the higher secondary question papers of the core subjects of all the three streams, that is, arts, science and commerce between the years 2005-2009.
Thus, it can be concluded that the similarities of the findings of the studies conducted between the years 2005-2009 and 2014-2018 revealed that the MBOSE has made very little or zero effort in helping our students develop their higher order thinking abilities, which in turn, is having serious repercussions in their performances in competitive examinations to various professional studies as well as job recruitments. The reason for such quality question papers is the absence of a question paper design in the syllabus. Interestingly, based on these observations, if MBOSE is now following the CBSE syllabus and using NCERT textbooks, then the question arises, is it following the question paper design of CBSE to prepare the question papers? If not, then what is the point of changing the syllabus when the same low quality question papers are set?
The same quality was also found in the question papers of MBOSE Secondary School Leaving Examinations. The question paper tests students’ lower order thinking skills and encourages rote memorization. However, it is to be reminded that because of the poor-quality question papers, some hard working students easily score 90 per cent and above in science, thus, making them join the science stream at the higher secondary level. It was only when they start their Class XI classes which are following the CBSE syllabus that they realised that their concept of science is superficial. This was evident from a case study conducted and feedback from many students who passed out from schools following the MBOSE syllabus.
The findings of the investigations carried out have brought to light an issue that requires serious consideration, and that is the gap that was found between the two transitioning classes, that is, Class X and Class XI. The science concepts taught at the secondary level are not given in detail and the easy Board question paper made it a problem not only for students to grasp concepts taught at Class XI but also poses a challenge for Class XI teachers to help students understand concepts at the Class XI level when basic concepts of students are lacking. With the vastness of the course, Class XI teachers will not be able to use extra time to reteach what is supposed to be learnt at the Class X level.
Thus, it is suggested that to fill the gap, the Classes IX and X MBOSE syllabus needs to be revised immediately such that core essentials of each of the science subjects, that is, Physics, Chemistry and Biology will be given fair treatment and students pursuing science at the higher class will greatly benefit from it. This gap would be more prominent now, since the MBOSE had followed the CBSE syllabus and the NCERT textbooks at the higher secondary level since 2018 while the MBOSE syllabus and textbooks are still being followed at the secondary level. The gap thus has become wider with different syllabi and textbooks followed at the two stages.
This issue which is of a serious nature needs to be corrected at the earliest especially now with school boards across the country gearing up for implementing the NEP 2020. Curriculum planners and syllabus designers need to include course objectives at the secondary science syllabus to incorporate objectives targeting higher order skills such as critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving skills and other core competencies that could be developed at this particular stage. Question paper design also needs to be included and paper setting needs a complete overhaul such that expected learning outcomes can be easily attained by students so that their performance will be at par with the rest of the nation.