Class 9 students to get a feel of 80:20 system

Students of class 9 studying State syllabus are likely to get a feel of the class 10 examinations with the Department of Public Instruction mooting the idea of allotting 20 per cent for internal assessment and the remaining for written examination.

Until now, class 9 students for whom Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) has already been implemented were writing the exam in the semester system and had four tests and two semester-end exams. Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education Kimmane Ratnakar told The Hindu that the move was aimed at helping students prepare for the class 10 examinations, which has been in the 80:20 per cent pattern from the 2014-15 academic year.

Sources in the department said the study carried out by the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) pointed towards improvement in some areas in the CCE method. However, majority of the responses have favoured continuation of the CCE 80:20 pattern, sources said.

A sample survey to get feedback from 7,712 teachers as well as 685 students was conducted across the State in government, aided and private unaided schools. “During the survey, we felt that the responses of the students towards the CCE method and the 80:20 pattern were more favourable than the teachers,” a source said.

‘CCE useful’

Sources said 69.5 per cent students felt that CCE was useful and that they preferred using textbooks than browsing the internet for their assignments and projects.

Meanwhile, 32.85 per cent of the teachers felt that there was a need to improve the quality of training and sought greater co-operation from parents and School Development and Monitoring Committee in making the new system more effective.

Sources in the department said there was a need for improvement in the teachers’ training programme as the training was provided very late into the academic year and greater clarity in the method of evaluation in the internal assessment.