New Delhi: As a first step, a workshop on school assessments, examination practices, and equivalence of boards across the country was organized by the Ministry of Education and PARAKH today in New Delhi. PARAKH has been set up as the organization under NCERT. It will work on bringing the school boards across the States and the Union Territories on a common platform. It will act as a common platform for the interaction of all concerned stakeholders to develop a holistic approach that ensures a fair assessment system that promotes equity in performance and equivalence in the assessment of students.
The workshop was chaired by Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, and attended by officials from the Ministry of Education, CBSE, NCERT, NIOS, NCVET, and NCTE. State Education Secretaries, State Project Directors of Schools, SCERT, and officials from State Examination Boards across India also attended the meeting.
While addressing the participants, Shri Sanjay Kumar emphasized the need for the equivalence of boards. In India, currently, there are around 60 school examination boards that are operating in different states/UTs. The aim is to establish a unified framework enabling seamless transitions for students moving between boards or regions. He added that this includes aligning curriculum standards, grading systems, and evaluation methodologies to enhance the credibility, recognition of certificates, and grades obtained across boards.
The workshop focused on a discussion on equivalence across educational boards. Multiple stakeholders were informed regarding the conception of PARAKH. The discussion revolved around the need to reassess the prevailing rote examination culture in our education system. There is a growing realization that holistic assessments, encompassing various dimensions of a student’s abilities and potential, are equally important. Further, the discussion emphasized the need for well-designed and standardized question papers, ensuring fairness and consistency across schools and boards. Additionally, there is a call to strike a balance between formative and summative assessments, reducing the burden of high-stakes examinations while effectively measuring a student’s progress. An analysis of secondary and higher secondary board examination results was also presented.