Haryana introduces board exams for classes V and VIII to improve quality of learning – Times of India

Speaking to Education Times, Ved Prakash Yadav, vice-chairman, Board of School Education Haryana (BSEH), says, “The central government amended the Right to Education Act (RTE) 2009 on January 11, 2019, which stated that regular examinations would be held every year at the end of classes V and VIII. In accordance with the amendment in central act, Haryana government has also amended the Haryana Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2011 to introduce board exams for classes V and VIII across all recognised private and government schools in the state. The government has taken this decision to improve academic standards in the state. The Haryana board was already conducting board exams for classes V and VIII even before RTE 2009 came into existence.”

The authorities realised, in the absence of board exams for classes V and VIII, there wasn’t any academic check at the primary and middle-level classes that led to a decline in the academic standards. Even the CBSE introduced the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) in 2009 that said that both school and board conducted examinations will take place.
“In school conducted examinations, the question paper came from the board but were had an internal evaluation by the school teachers. Surprisingly in the majority of schools, not a single student failed. Taking a cue from this, we decided to reintroduce board exams for a fair assessment of the student’s performance across all categories of schools,” says Yadav stressing how the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasizes on Census assessment (large scale assessment) at the end of class III, V and VIII.

As per the RTE act, imparting education till elementary school is the prerogative of the state government. Hence, as per the Haryana School Education rules 2003, all schools that have sought recognition from the state government are required to follow the state government recommended syllabus for classes up to VIII and below, adds Yadav.

Ajmer Singh, leader of union, Haryana board schools, says, “The decision to conduct board exams for classes V and VIII is not the right step. Due to this, the students will have the extra burden of performance amid pandemic. Due to COVID, the students haven’t been able to study as the entire teaching learning process is online and the board exams would be an added stress for them. There have been instances where the syllabus has not been completed.”