Thiruvananthapuram: Education directors in Kerala have been continuously submitting reports citing anomalies in the school examination evaluation procedures in the state. The latest to raise criticism is the current public education director S Shanavas. The IAS officer has commented that even students who are not even capable of writing and reading properly are securing ‘A+’ in class 10 exams in the state. In the context, SCERT is now preparing to sort out the issues in the new curriculum, by setting new standards in exams and continuous evaluation.

It should be noted that currently ‘A+’ is awarded to students who secure above 90 percent marks in their subjects. This is equivalent to the ‘distinction’ issued earlier. Despite rising demands for improving upon the continuous evaluation procedures, nothing effective has been done so far. Performance of students in the annual exams is still regarded as the benchmark of their academic progression. 

Here, continuous evaluation of the performance of the students is not at all being done effectively. At present, a maximum of 20 marks is given as part of continuous evaluation in a 100-marks paper. Similarly, 10 marks is  given as part of continuous evaluation in a 50-marks paper. Class teachers are known to be very generous when it comes to giving marks to students in this category. Over all in the class 10 public exam, students need to score a total of 30 marks in a 100-marks paper and 15 marks in a 50 marks paper to be declared passed. The generosity in giving CE marks makes it too easy for the students to clear these exams.   

However, while preparing the new curriculum, SCERT is working on making the entire process of continuous evaluation more transparent and effective.

Before Shanavas, previous education directors Biju Prabhakar and MS Jaya had also raised concerns over the school education in the state.