The results of the Class X exams conducted by the Board of Secondary Education Assam (SEBA) have taken the halo off Guwahati, touted as the education hub of the Northeast, to shine on smaller towns and semi-urban areas of the State.
The outcome has also put a question mark on the quality of teaching in government-run schools in the city that used to figure in the top 20 list not so long ago.
SEBA officials said 56.04% of the 3,37,570 candidates passed the HSLC (high school leaving certificate) examination this year. Of the 37 students who figured in the top 10 list, only four are from private schools in Guwahati and none from government schools in the city.
Tezpur’s Raktim Bhuyan with 593 out of maximum 600 took the top spot, followed by Barpeta’s Abinash Kalita and Tihu’s Preetpal Bezbaruah in joint second (592), and Barpeta’s Sultana Ayishah Siddiqua, Baksa’s Jintee Devi and Guwahati’s Arbi Chaliha in joint third (591) rank.
No grace marks
State Education Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharyya said the performance of State-run schools will be improved through periodic Gunotsav (assessment of quality meet). But he indicated that it could get tougher for the students from the current academic session with the government deciding to do away with the policy of adding grace marks.
Grace marks, educationists said, could have played a role in the success rate jumping 8.1% this year from the 47.94% in 2017, which was the lowest in more than a decade.
“Wider dimension of aspirations is one of the reasons students in smaller places with rural character have done better. There is a desire in these places to excel and access to Internet has enabled the students to overcome handicaps such as teacher absenteeism and quality of teaching,” said Parimal Bhattacharjee, a retired Gauhati University professor. He felt accountability could help government schools regain lost glory.
State-run schoolteachers blamed the poor show on tottering infrastructure and the tendency to engage teachers in non-teaching assignments. “There is a lack of sincerity too among some teachers,” said D. Barthakur, a school principal.
Another reason for Guwahati losing the SEBA gloss is the switch-over of private schools to central boards such as CBSE and ICSE. “Only a couple of schools have remained with SEBA, and Guwahati tends to be lost in central board sea,” a Cotton University teacher said.
At the end of the day, hard work and determination to overcome hurdles sees one through. “But not at the cost of enjoying the little things of life,” said Anushka Bordoloi of Torajan Sonarigaon near Jorhat town. She secured the sixth rank.
