PANAJI
Ahead of conducting first-ever centralised common examination for students from Grade 3 to Grade 8 in October, over 450 teachers from approximately 1,500 schools across Goa have been trained for framing competency-based question papers, which would be set up through Goa State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT). The teachers have already drafted model question papers.
The examination that will be held through a common time-table for all grades will commence from October 9 for Grade 3 and Grade 4 while the students of Grade 5 to Grade 8 will answer their first paper on October 7. The SCERT has said that the common summative exams are being held to “bring uniformity and standardisation” in the way schools carry out the assessment of students.
Speaking to The Goan, SCERT Director Meghana Shetgaonkar said that following the government approval, an external agency, having extensive experience in setting competency-based question papers, was roped in to provide training to our teachers on how to frame or draft such exam papers for all six grades, covering over 1.20 lakh students. She said that the agency also helped in question bank development.
“This is the very first time that we are conducting such a competency based centralised examination on such a large scale. To ensure successful implementation, we had roped in an agency to train our teachers. Ten teachers per subject per grade have been trained by the agency,” she said.
Shetgaonkar said that the teachers have already drafted a model question paper and the same have been forwarded to the schools for their understanding. “We had initially planned to seek help from the same agency for confidential paper setting. However, our teachers have been well trained and the papers are also being set up as per the requirement,” she said.
The move is part of the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.
SCERT Director said that the common examination is compulsory for all schools across the state and any lapses in this regard will be viewed seriously. SCERT has said that flying squads will conduct surprise visits to monitor the exams.
The implementation of NEP 2020 in Goa was in phase manner from the academic year 2023-2024, beginning with Baalvatika 1 (foundational stage). The policy was subsequently extended to Baalvatika 2 and Class IX (secondary stage) during 2024-25 and further expanded in 2025-26 to include Baalvatika 3, Class III (preparatory stage), Class VI (middle stage), and Class X (secondary stage).
