Tepid response to test has schools worried

The government’s ambitious initiative to conduct the Competitiveness or Kal Chachani test for SSC students is creating a new problem, for students have failed to turn up for the same. Expressing their helplessness, schools have said that despite sending reminders students are not turning up as they are preparing for the board exams, which start on March 1. The Maharashtra State Board, which is conducting the test online, has said that schools have been given time till February 25 and can also download the test and conduct it offline in case of connectivity issues.

Speaking about the government order asking all schools to conduct the Competitiveness test for class 10 students, a principal from a South Mumbai school said, “Students are busy preparing for the board exams that will get underway on March 1 and hence have not come for the test even though the school sent them messages through email and mobile phone messages. Some parents demanded to know why we were adding to the stress of the students by scheduling an altogether new test just before the crucial board exams”.

The government had announced the Competitiveness Test to help students in class 10 identify the vocation best suited to their capabilities. However, as the decision was taken late last year, the test was scheduled for February 2016 which is when students prepare for the all important board exams conducted by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE). The test is of 40 minutes and consists of 150 questions that have to be responded with ‘Yes’, ‘No’ or ‘Don’t Know’. The board has allowed schools to give students extra time too. The principal added that as conducting the test was compulsory, the reluctance of students to appear for the test was making them apprehensive of government backlash.

Krishna Patil, secretary of MSBSHSE, Pune said that they had received similar feedback from schools too.