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Govt to Do Away With Pass-Fail Norm

Posted on: Friday, 4 July 2008, 00:00 CDT

By Ambika Pandit

NEW DELHI: In a bid to reduce the dropout rate in schools, Delhi government has decided to get rid of the traditional pass-fail system and move to a new grading system for students of classes V to VII. Under the new system, which will be introduced from this academic session, no child will be left behind as a failure.

Education secretary Reena Ray confirmed that the education department has sent a directive in this regard to all government schools. And around 80,000 students are expected to benefit from this pattern of assessment.

So far, Delhi government schools followed the regular examination system to assess students and decide their promotion to the next grade. Now, the new system is being introduced to do away with this pass-fail system and prevent students from dropping out of school at the crucial middle school level, said education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely.

The trend of dropping out is most prevalent among students of classes VI and VII, said the education department. And many of these students hailed from the weaker sections of society.

It has been noted, said Lovely, that many students find it difficult to cope with the curriculum in government schools as their elementary education is weak. Most government schools teach from Class VI onwards and only 300-odd cater to primary classes.

Students get admission to government schools on the basis of a nominal test and an affidavit, indicating their age. "If the age of a child is equivalent to that of a class VI child, he is eligible to join at that level by showing an affidavit. But in a number of cases, it is seen that children are unable to cope with the level of teaching of class VI in government schools. They fail in the process and get demoralised," said Lovely.

As part of the new system, grades (A to D) will be awarded to students, and even those who get a 'D' grade will be eligible for the next class. But the study scheme will be different for students who end up with D grade. For instance, if a student has failed in two subjects, he will be promoted to the next class, but he will have to study the curriculum of the previous year for the subjects he has failed to clear.

He will be moved to the next level, in these two subjects, once his teachers are satisfied with his progress. The government plans to introduce this grading system even in the primary level, said Lovely.

ambika.pandit@timesgroup.com

(c) 2008 The Times of India. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Source: The Times of India

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