City autonomous colleges have decided to do away with liberal evaluation amidst concerns that a stricter marking system might lower the overall pass percentage for its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
St. Teresa’s College decided not to give moderation before publishing the first semester results of the undergraduate courses under the Mahatma Gandhi University’s choice-based credit and semester scheme. Sacred Heart College will also adopt a stringent pattern aimed at implementing a scientific evaluation scheme.
“We have decided not to promote moderation as it would help in introducing a scientific assessment of the performance of students. Moreover, the internal assessment helps the teachers identify the varied capabilities of each student,” said Fr. Prashant Palakkapillil, Principal of Sacred Heart College, Thevara.
Sr. Vinitha, Principal of St. Teresa’s College, said that a credible marking system would ultimately help the students. “They will definitely have the advantage, especially when applying for a job or while pursuing a higher education programme. With no moderation in place, we have seen a renewed effort by teachers and students to scale up their performance,” she said.
Faculty members admitted that the pass percentage had dropped compared with the university system that encourages moderation and liberal evaluation. The average pass percentage is 60 to 70 compared with 80 and above percentage achieved in the university pattern of evaluation for undergraduate programmes, they said.
Twenty per cent of the answer sheets of undergraduate programmes are evaluated again by external examiners in autonomous colleges. For postgraduate programmes, double evaluation is done for all the answer sheets.
Interestingly, the autonomous colleges may opt for moderation in the final semester of the present undergraduate and postgraduate batches based on the overall performance of the students. A decision on moderation has to be taken jointly by the academic and governing councils of the autonomous colleges.
