Public examination for class VII unlikely in Karnataka

After drawing flak over the proposal to conduct public examination for Class VII, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education is unlikely to go ahead with the plan for the current academic year. Sources in the department admitted that preparations have not been made for it.

“We need to start the process of setting the question paper and everything needs to be done in a confidential manner. We are also busy with preparation for the SSLC examination and will find it difficult to set a question paper for Class VII,” an official said.

It was also said that there was no adequate time to make amendments to the legislation and convince the stakeholders before introducing the exam.

The Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights had issued a notice to the department over plans to conduct a public exam for Class VII as it was against the mandate of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and other constitutional provisions.

Nagasimha G. Rao, convener of the RTE task force, said it was a good idea to scrap the plan this year. “Teachers and students are also confused if the examination will be held or not and there is absolutely no work at the grass root level,” he said. He also pointed out that while the Union government had amended the no-detention policy in the RTE Act, the State government was yet to deliberate and decide on the matter.

The commission had mooted a regular exam conducted in the classroom by the subject teacher in a child-friendly environment instead. It had said that it would help analyse the skills acquired by the child without subjecting him or her to stress.

Prakash S., a parent of a Class VII student, said that there was a need for the State government to focus on improving the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) method instead of subjecting students to examination.

Primary and Secondary Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar had proposed the move and had claimed that the demand had come from various stakeholders. He had said that while it would be an assessment for the 2019-20 academic year, students would be detained only from the 2020-21 academic year.