As part of its continuous efforts to update and reform various aspects of the education system, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to refrain from using the words ‘failed’ and ‘compartmental’ in the mark sheets of class X and XII board results. The aim is to replace these words with terms that are less likely to impact students’ mental health and save them from post-result stress.
The terms “failed” and “compartmental” has a different definition for Class X and XII marksheets. Currently, the terms implies:
When students secure less than 33% marks (minimum eligibility criteria) in two subjects, it is considered ‘compartmental’ in the class X marksheet, and ‘failed’ for more than two subjects.
In class XII boards, the inability to secure 33% in one subject would mean ‘compartmental’, for more, the term ‘failed’ is used.
“The word ‘failed’ has negative connotations, and in a marksheet, can have adverse implications. No student should be declared ‘failed’ since it does not denote his/her future prospects,” says Sanyam Bhardwaj, controller of examinations, CBSE, which has been engaging in stress reduction strategies by opening helpline counselling and getting former students to boost the confidence of board examinees.
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“To counter the use of such negative terminology, we have constituted a committee which would take into account the feedback of stakeholders, comprising school principals across the country and educationists who have been asked to provide alternative terms to help lessen the burden on students’ minds. Our job is to motivate students to perform even better and keep their enthusiasm going,” adds Bhardwaj.
Bhardwaj further said, CBSE may implement its plans in 2020 itself to make the reforms come through.
The substitute terms, according to Dr Samir Parikh, consultant psychiatrist, director-Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, Fortis National Mental Health Program, Fortis Healthcare, is fine, but will do little to lessen the stress unless society’s reaction to ‘failure’ changes. There is always the risk of the same cycle being repeated should expectations run high, and even substitute terms will demoralise the students.
“The number that a student gets may not be at par with standardised norms, but that too is an achievement. What students need to do is learn from that ‘achievement’ and strategise on their future,” Dr Parikh says.
He calls for greater sensitivity in the support system where parents and teachers do not berate students’ performances, rather must help them plan for the next exam. “It is also important to look at every exam as a life skill and learning opportunity and equip students with exam coping skills as a pre-emptive measure,” he adds.
Agrees Alka Singh, principal, Blue Bells Model School, Gurgaon, “While ‘failure’ is a fact of life, there is always room for reinterpreting the term with phrases such as ‘Scope for improvement’ to reduce the hard-hitting impact. The numbers in the marksheets can do the talking and not the labels being cast.”
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“Students should be made to realize that it is just ‘one’ of the breakdowns which could be an opportunity for a bigger breakthrough. More than the students, it is often the parents who reinforce the idea of failure which worsens the child’s psychological state. If he/she is shown another window, it might give a clearer perspective,” Singh adds.
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