The abysmal results of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Public Examinations-2022 was a bitter pill to swallow for all the stakeholders in more ways than one.
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The all-important 10th Class Board exams last year saw only 67.26 % of the total 6.15 lakh candidates clearing it. The appalling pass percentage was the lowest in the previous 20 years, bursting the “super successful SSC examination” bubble we all lived in.
The good part is that despite the academic gloom the woefully low pass percentage generated, officials at the helm of the Education Department were not perturbed. They took it in their stride and started gearing up for brighter SSC results in future.
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Against this backdrop, the 10th Class Board exams, scheduled from April 3 to April 18, assume significance.
Paper leakage scandal
Last year, reports of misuse of technology leading to question paper leakage and mass copying at some centres marred the smooth conduct of the examinations.
The Education Minister Botsa Satyanarayana vehemently denied any leakage of question paper and said a few persons tried to resort to malpractice using technology, but they were prevented by the alert authorities. However, cases were booked against 60 persons., 38 of them were government teachers and 22 were staff from private educational institutions besides seven former students.
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“Based on last year’s experience, we are taking all precautions for effective monitoring. This year, CCTV cameras are being installed in more number of centres”S. Suresh KumarCommissioner of School Education
“Based on last year’s experience, we are taking all precautions for effective monitoring. This year, CCTV cameras are being installed in more number of centres,” says Commissioner of School Education S. Suresh Kumar.
To prevent technology-induced malpractice, a complete ban is being imposed on the use of mobile phones for everyone, including the invigilators and Chief Supervisors. “The Chief Supervisors can use their mobile phones in their rooms, but they will not be allowed to carry them into the examination hall,” Mr. Suresh Kumar said.
Targetted efforts
Principal Secretary, School Education, Praveen Prakash, expresses hope that the hard work invested by the officials will reflect in the results this year. “We have allocated subject teachers in all High Schools in the State, completed all formative and summative assessments and have put in place a fool-proof system besides holding a series of meetings to discuss threadbare all key aspects for the successful conduct of the Public examinations,” he said.
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Shortcomings
Representatives of teacher unions, meanwhile, cite shortcomings that they say added to their academic woes. Though the academic year started on July 5, the classes started only in August to facilitated ‘remedial teaching’ a warm-up exercise for slow learners, they say.
“The authorities deviated completely from the academic calendar and merger of schools, carried out in a very incoherent way, had an adverse impact,” says Andhra Pradesh Teachers Federation (APTF) State general secretary K. Bhanumurthy.
He says schools were merged, but the adequate number of teachers were not allotted until January this year under the ‘Work Adjustment’ initiative. As part of the “merger woes”, he says there were instances of one teacher having to change two or even three schools in a week, leading to utter confusion.
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“Not heeding our plea to give us transfers in the month of May (in summer vacation), as it would not disturb the classes, the department issued GO 187 on teacher transfers on December 10,” he complains.
“Despite the odds, we have put in our best efforts to equip the students with the wherewithal to come out with flying colours in the 10th Class public exams this year,” he adds.
In 2019, the State recorded a pass percentage of 94.88 in the SSC Public exams. The next two years were marred by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, forcing the government to drop the exam and declare all students pass.
A sharp fall in the pass percentage to 67.2 by the students of 10th Class in the next year came as a rude jolt. As many blamed the pandemic for the unprecedented dip in the students’ performance, it is believed that this year’s SSC results will bring the authorities face-to-face with reality.