News
Rajasthan to pioneer compulsory exam in Class V.
Inspite of the RTE spelling out that there should be no exams till grade VIII, Rajasthan is set to break the mould by becoming the first state in the country to make exams compulsory for Class V students in March 2017. However, the results will not be declared pass or fail as they will be awarded
With the national roll-out of the Right to Education Act (RTE), all students could directly move to the next grade without giving an exam till grade VIII. However, the state of Rajasthan is set to break the mould by becoming the first state in the country to make exams compulsory for Class V students in March 2017. However, the students will be only awarded grades and results will be not be in the form of pass or fail.
The initiative comes at a time when government run schools are facing declining learning levels-reading, comprehension and mathematics.
Following the guiding principle of the RTE Act, which says no student can be detained till Class VIII, remedial classes will be arranged for students with poor grades to prepare them for the next class. "Students who will score poorly will be divided into groups according to their scores. They will be given subject wise extra classes to improve their learning levels," said Vasudev Devnani, state education minister.
The minister added that without any screening processes in place in the primary classes, the learning levels go undetected and hence students with low aptitude are unable to cope with the increased pressures of higher classes and drop out of school. The move will put a check to these mass drop-outs.
Notably, Devnani was head of the body formed by the Central government to review the 'no-detention policy'. Even then, he was of the opinion that the policy should be revoked and instead screening tests should be introduced in grades V and VIII.
These recommendations also feature in the draft of new education policy. Notably, 19 states in the country want to do away with the no-detention policy.
A possible trigger for the introduction of screening in Rajasthan could be the dismal show of the state in the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER). The report shows a dip in learning outcomes of grade V. Figures from the report show that in 2014 only 15.3% students were able to read sentences of Class III, while only 23.6% of Class V students could do division of Class III level.
Sources in the education department feel that this initiative will set an example for other states to follow. Incidentally, Rajasthan was also the pioneer state to introduce screening in Class VIII 2 years ago. The grade V screenings will be conducted by the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET).
* Read the original story on www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Image used for representational purpose only