Sibal plan: Bengal, Kerala see red

Orissa, Left-Ruled States Apart, Mixed Feelings Greet HRD Min’s Edu Reforms Ideas

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: State education ministers and examination boards warmed up to the reform proposals of HRD minister Kapil Sibal with the exception of the Leftruled Kerala and Bengal and also Orissa.

UP took a leaf out of Sibal’s book and CM Mayawati became the first one to announce a grading system for the state board exams from the next academic session to ease academic pressure. But it rejected the plan to junk the board exams and was cautious on the recommendations of establishing a single secondary board with a uniform curriculum. The BJP government in Gujarat said what Sibal was talking about now was first mooted by the state.

Mayawati said performance will be judged on the basis of marks scored in the best five of the total six subjects and there will be supplementary exams to help the students. District-level committees headed by district magistrates will be set up to regulate fees in public and private schools, she added.

“These days Class XII has become a basic educational qualification. In such a situation making Class XII exam as an external examination instead of Class X is not a bad move,’’ said H P Bhattacharya, Assam’s director of state council for education research and training.

The Jharkhand government, too, welcomed the move. “The proposed system will help in churning out better talent,’’ said state HRD secretary Mridula Sinha.

The Andhra government was cautious. “Kapil Sibal’s proposal is good for the students and the state. But it has to be studied in its entirety. A decision will be taken only after a thorough examination of the proposal,’’ said secondary education minister Manikya Varaprasada Rao.

Rajasthan’s exam board officials were apprehensive. Eradicating board exams is a revolutionary idea. A lot of deliberation is required before taking any step towards its implementation, said a senior education officer in Jaipur, who asked not to be named. “Recently the US President attributed the excellence of Indian students to the long durations they spent in classrooms. This zeal to spend time studying may be due to the examination pressure,’’ the official added.

Kerala, West Bengal and Orissa were unanimous in opposing Sibal. M A Baby, education minister of Left-ruled Kerala said the Centre should not take unilateral decisions on doing away with Class X exams. Baby sought an “urgent meeting’’ of state education ministers to evolve a consensus. “This is something that needs to be discussed more. Education is on the concurrent list and as such, the Centre cannot take a unilateral decision,’’ Baby told TOI. “Im not averse to reforms being implemented at any level, but it should be academically sound and respect the federal polity.’’

Baby’s Bengal counterpart Partho De said he would “go all out’’ to oppose the plan. “This would lead to mayhem. How can you scrap Class X exam by just saying it is stressful? Is this a joke?’’ De asked. “The syllabus at Class X level in Bengal was revised in such a manner that the flab has gone and students study the bare essential. So where is the stress?’’ On Sibal’s plan of one board for the country, De said nothing could be “more weird’’. “It’s a vast country and each state has needs that only a state-run board can satisfy,” he said.

In Orissa, educationists strongly opposed the move saying it would “ruin’’ the students’ future. “It’s a thoughtless proposal,’’ said K Panda, secretary, Orissa Secondary School Teachers’ Association.