DNA Edit: Mark(sheet) the changes

In the competitive world of education, where every mark counts, a generous assessment is counter-productive. Inflated scores not only undermine academic rigour but also nurture a culture of complacency among students who can count on the board’s generosity to reflect on their mark sheets. In other words, such a practice unfairly clubs the top-notch with the middling.

To end this disparity, the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has shown willingness to implement a scientific moderation policy in 2018. While the nitty-gritty of the policy is being fleshed out, what’s heartening is the board’s intention to rein in what it calls the “malpractice of spiking marks”.

The inter-board group, set up by the HRD Ministry, comprising representatives of eight boards, will take a call on how to ensure a fair marking system that does justice to the hard work put in by students.

However, the slew of changes won’t affect the tradition of grace marks that boost pass percentages. The participation of state boards like Gujarat, J&K, Telangana, Kerala and Manipur, along with CBSE and CISCE, in the latest initiative will undoubtedly foster cooperation between the Centre and states, offering the stakeholders a platform to air their reservations and disagreements.

The consensus arrived at will ensure spontaneous participation across the country. One could say that the ground was already fertile for an attitudinal shift in April when 32 education boards had decided against the upward revision of marks. But the Centre wanted a broader agreement on the issue for which it stopped short of implementing it in 2017.

The Delhi High Court’s decision disallowing CBSE to do away with its moderation policy this year has also offered an opportunity to look closely at the systemic problems that lowered the bar in assessment. It is alleged that unhealthy competition between CBSC and ICSC, coupled with parents’ desires to enrol their wards into schools affiliated with easy-scoring boards, was the genesis of the crisis.

Soon state boards followed suit and what we became saddled with was a model crowded with top scorers who are scrambling to ensure a berth in decent educational institutions — a classic case of demand and supply, and one that has also diluted the definition of excellence to make it more egalitarian. Now with a common core syllabus and the various state boards exchanging notes on how to frame questions, a uniform method of assessment is likely to emerge  soon.

The CBSE too will be responsible for ensuring that state boards get a fair idea on finding common ground regarding difficulty levels as well as marking procedures to make it a level playing field. Next year could herald a path-breaking change in India’s education system.