Meeting on pass-fail system

TT, 22 December 2017, Salt Lake: Education minister Partha Chatterjee on Friday met representatives of teachers' associations, academicians and leaders of the Opposition to decide from which class and when the pass-fail system should be reintroduced.

The leader of the Left legislature party and CPM MLA from Jadavpur, Sujan Chakraborty, and leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Abdul Mannan, met the minister at Bikash Bhavan, the education secretariat in Salt Lake, to express their stand on the matter. Chakraborty said the pass-fail system should be brought back from Class V through continuous comprehensive evaluation while Mannan is in favour of its reintroduction from Class I.

The CPM-backed All Bengal Teachers' Association batted for no-detention and the Trinamul schoolteachers' union advocated reintroduction of pass-fail from Class I.

Under the current system, students are promoted to the next class irrespective of their performance till Class VIII.

Minister Chatterjee had said last month that the "state government is in favour of promoting students to the next class on the basis of their performance in class. The government will soon announce from which class and year the pass-fail system will return".

The no-detention system, mandated by the Centre's right to education act, was introduced in 2009 to prevent underprivileged students below 14 years from quitting studies in fear of failure.

Trinamul, then the Opposition in Bengal, had been against automatic promotion. It did not change its stand after coming to power in 2011.

"I have suggested that pass-fail be reintroduced from class V or VI. Those who fail must be offered remedial classes," academician Pabitra Sarkar said.