Mumbai: Parents across the state are protesting the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education’s (MSBSHSE’s) recent move of scrapping internal assessment for Class 10 students. They are of the view that this will create a huge gap between students of the state board and other boards, especially during junior college admissions.
A parent said, “What is wrong with students scoring 20 marks at the school level when their efficiency can be proven through the 80 mark written exam. Why is the government and the board depriving them of scoring a higher percentage? This will get worse when all other board students score better marks and get placed in the best colleges after Class 10.”
Meanwhile, another parent said that scrapping internal assessment, especially in subjects like Hindi, Marathi and English was a bad move. “These subjects are languages. By having oral exams for these, students will build their communication skills and develop interest in languages. This could be a stepping stone for students to take interest at the degree level,” said the parent who is also a teacher in a Thane-based school.
Unlike the MSBSHSE, all other boards such as ICSE, CBSE and IB continue to retain the internal assessment format. The state board for the academic year 2018-19 scrapped the internal marks for language subjects and social science. Now since there are no internal marks (20 marks), students will be appearing for the 100 marks’ paper. Parents have submitted a petition to both MSBSHSE and chief minister Devendra Fadna-vis to restore the internal assessment system.
A senior official at MSBSHSE, Mumbai division, said, “Going for a 100-mark format paper, by excluding the internal marks is a pilot project. By reviewing its success or failure at the end, it will be decided whether to keep it or go by the earlier format. Parents should stop worrying and importantly, should stop scaring students. It will create panic among them when they should be relaxed and preparing for their board exam.”
