PSEB Class X Pass Percentage Drops---- Experts point fingers at exam pattern

PSEB Class X Pass Percentage Drops
Experts point fingers at exam pattern
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 15
The ‘tough’ decision taken by the authorities of the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) to make it mandatory for the students of class X to pass in five of the total six subjects led to a steep downfall in the pass percentage from 77.94 last year to 64.32 this year. The move is now attracting criticism.
Of the total 3,52,948 students who appeared in the PSEB matriculation examination, this year, only 2,27,009 could clear it.
Parents and some educationists are anticipating that it would further increase the drop-out rate.
“Finding the Board examination tough to crack, a large number of students who failed this year would opt to leave their studies and it would even affect the next batches also,” they feared.
Sham Lal Bansal of Bathinda termed the PSEB decision against the national policy. Flaying the PSEB for repeatedly claiming that it had been moving on the pattern of the CBSE, Bansal said, “When the CBSE can give the option for students to go for either the Board exam or the school test, why has PSEB toughened its stand?”
“The officials of the state education department want some amendment in the Right to Education Act 2009, claiming that they want it to be more friendly but making the three languages and two out of the remaining three subjects compulsory indicates wrong intentions,” said Parkash Goyal, a teacher.
“Though the PSEB officials are claiming that the tough decision will pave the way for better results in future, the fail percentage of this year, that is nearly 36 per cent, can not be justified in any way. Hardly a few students declared to have failed or those given compartment in math, science or social studies will be able to bear the jolt and make another attempt,” lamented Darshan Singh Dhillon, convener of the district Save Education Society, Mansa.
“This experiment of the PSEB making it mandatory to clear five out of six subjects is not less than being responsible for the national loss. The affected students would either have to pay huge fees or would opt to quit studying further,” he added.
However, the chairman of the PSEB, Dalbir Singh Dhillon said, “Making it mandatory to clear five subjects was not the decision solely taken by me. It was decided after a number of meetings conducted with different committees of eminent educationists for the purpose.”
Clarifying the doubts, Dhillon said the actual fail percentage is just 15 per cent and comparatively unchanged compared to last year. The rest of the gap is of compartment cases, which decreased the overall pass percentage.
“Taking a tough stance may have resulted in unexpected results and has invited criticism but in the long run it will surely prove to be beneficial for the students and people will appreciate it,” he added.