the goan I network
PANAJI
An unexpected level of difficulty in the SSC Std X question paper has exposed the communication gap between the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary education and the schools ultimately to the detriment of the students answering the exams.
The case in point is the blame game between the Goa Board and the heads of various schools over whether the change in format of the question paper was adequately communicated to the schools.
The Science and Maths question papers for SSC students were claimed to be unusually tough as students were faced with a higher number of ‘application-type’ questions, which they found difficult to overcome.
The Goa Board claims that in a communication sent to heads of all schools, back in September 2017, it had informed of the change in the nature of the question paper.
“The Board of Studies in Science have prepared (a) model question bank of knowledge/understanding, and application type [questions] from which teachers can get an idea about the nature of the questions which may come up for the forthcoming March examination, 2018 for class X,” the letter read.
The Board also uploaded on its website the ‘Design of (the) question paper’ for the use of teachers.
However, the Goa Headmasters Association in a letter to the Chairman of the Goa Board sent on Thursday, has said that the circular issued by the Goa Board and the Model question bank uploaded on the board’s website was only a design of the question paper.
“It did not give a comprehensive knowledge of the change of pattern, a rise of difficulty level, twisting of questions, etc,” the letter signed by Vithoba Desai the president of the Goa Headmasters’ Association said.
Caught in the crossfire are the students who had to answer a Science question paper of unexpected difficulty level catching them unprepared.
The Headmasters admitted that the students were “shocked and in tears” to find a very difficult, twisted and strange science question paper.
“The sudden change of pattern during examination was shocking and fearful. Even the Science teachers were not trained and prepared at any workshop to teach the change pattern to the students,” Desai said in his letter to the chairman of the Board.
The Goa Board Chairman, while speaking to a section of reporters, said that the paper in question was not overly difficult and that it was only the difficult part of the paper that was made ‘more difficult’.
“There was nothing out of syllabus. Answers to all questions can be found in the textbook. We have appointed a scrutiny committee and the committee in its report has found that 30% of the content was easy 50% of the content was average and 20% was difficult,” Chairman of the Board Ramkrishna Samant said.
“Teachers and schools were told that such a paper will be set,” Samant said adding that the format of including more ‘application-type’ questions would be taken forward.
The Board said that they would call a meeting of all heads of schools before the paper corrections begin and ask them for alternate answers to the questions, which they think should also be considered as ‘correct’ and accordingly, we can ask the examiners to accept these alternate answers.
Questions remain over the manner in which the Goa Board communicated its decision to the schools under its jurisdiction, the lack of follow-ups to ensure that the schools received and understood the gravity of the communication they had just received and the Board resorting to an innocuous letter to communicate such an important piece of information.
In an effort to reach the parents and their students who would ultimately be answering the paper, the Board could have resorted to a public announcement through the media for a change in the pattern and difficulty level of the question paper.
