HS mulls marks on Class XI performance

TT, March 30: Students writing the Higher Secondary examinations next year may be marked on their performance in Class XI as well.

The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education is planning to allot 10 marks in each subject in the HS examinations to students' performances in Class XI.

HS examinees are now tested only on the Class XII syllabus. In the existing system, the written examinations for non-laboratory subjects carry 80 marks and the remaining 20 marks are allotted to project work. For science subjects, the written tests are for 70 marks and the remaining 30 marks are allotted to practical exams.

Under the proposed system, 10 marks will be allotted to project work in non-lab subjects and the remaining 10 to project work and the Class XI annual examinations, each carrying five marks.

In the science stream, the practical exams will be marked on 20 and 10 marks will be allotted to students' performance in the practical and written exams of Class XI (each carrying five marks), said Mahua Das, the president of the HS council.

"There is an increasing tendency among students to neglect studies in Class XI. The trend is not desirable. We are working on a proposal to give weightage to students' performance in Class XI," Das said.

The council president, however, said the proposal was in a preliminary stage and the council would consider the implementation of the new marking system only after it gets the nod from the school education department.

If approved by the government, the new system will be introduced in 2018.

Project work was introduced in the HS curriculum two years ago to reduce students' workload and make the learning process more enjoyable and interesting, said a source in the council.

But the council has been receiving complaints from several schools, mainly from rural areas, that students were finding it difficult to complete the 20-mark project work. Many students were even neglecting their studies to concentrate on he projects.

"The council officials and senior teachers and heads of HS schools discussed the matter and we decided to give some weightage to the overall performance of students in Class XI," said a council source.

Council officials have verbally alerted the school education department about the proposal. A detailed report on the proposal is being prepared to be sent to the government, the sources said.

A former president of the council, however, cautioned that the students might not benefit from the new system if the schools don't assess the students in the Class XI exams in a fair manner.

"In any Class XII board examination such as HS, even a difference of a single mark can be crucial for a student seeking admission to a reputable college. In such a situation, the schools would have to ensure impartial marking. The council needs to devise a mechanism to monitor the schools," said the former president.

SSKM gherao

Nurses at SSKM Hospital gheraoed the medical superintendent for several hours till late on Thursday. They were demanding action against the assistant superintendent of the hospital who had allegedly misbehaved with a nurse earlier this week. The assistant superintendent had told off the nurse as she allegedly failed to fetch a trolley for a patient.