Is safe and guaranteed passage sans exams till Class IX the answer to raising literacy levels? The record says not. This year in Delhi alone, 27 per cent students in the CBSC stream in government schools failed to clear the annual exam in this class. And as reports poured in from UP, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Punjab and other States, it became evident that the situation is similar in large swathes of the country. So, why has Class IX become the sorting hat? This is the first exam children encounter: till then they just get promoted. What are students supposed to do if they fail to get the minimum 25 per cent required in the second chance they get in the Improvement of Performance (IOP) exam?

Many blame the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) that moved them into an assessment-based system where learning outcomes — read grades — would be the parameter, and not an obsession with marks. While this was a much-needed step, it needed to go hand in hand with other modifications keeping in mind the fact that a large number of children in government schools are first generation learners who need remedial classes to build the initial foundation of literacy.

Ideally, any assessment should be a gradual process which begins in the formative classes. Students who cannot cope with the syllabus should be given added attention and assistance but also slowly be eased into suitable vocational training. Why can’t we dovetail the National Skill Development Programme with schooling, with a focus on children who are not academically oriented? It’s time we inject some sense into our system.

Associate Editor

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