Regulator for Uniform Board Exams | 31 Aug 2022

For Prelims: PAREKH(Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), NCERT, National Achievement Survey (NAS), National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

For Mains: Significance of Single Regulator PAREKH.

Why in News?

Union government is planning to set up a national regulator PAREKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) for achieving a benchmark framework to assess students at the secondary and higher secondary level.

What is PAREKH?

  • About:
    • It's a proposed regulator, which will act as a constituent unit of the NCERT, and will also be tasked with holding periodic learning outcome tests like the National Achievement Survey (NAS) and State Achievement Surveys.
    • Its team will consist of leading assessment experts with a deep understanding of the education system in India and internationally.
    • It will eventually become the national single-window source for all assessment-related information and expertise, with a mandate to support learning assessment in all forms, both nationally and where applicable, internationally
  • Objectives:
    • Uniform Norms & Guidelines:
      • Setting norms, standards and guidelines for student assessment and evaluation for all recognized school boards of India,
    • Enhance Assessment Pattern:
      • It will encourage and help school boards to shift their assessment patterns towards meeting the skill requirements of the 21st century
    • Reduce Disparity in Evaluation:
      • It will bring uniformity across the state and central boards which currently follow different standards of evaluation, leading to wide disparities in scores.
    • Benchmark Assessment:
    • Suggestions:
      • Hold Board Exams Twice:
        • Various states have endorsed the NEP’s proposal to hold board exams twice a year, including one for helping students improve their scores.
      • Two types of Exams for Math:
        • States are also on board regarding a proposal to offer two types of papers on mathematics — a standard exam, and another to test higher-level competency.
  • Significance:
    • Reduce Fear:
      • It will help reduce the fear of maths among students and encourage learning.
    • Removes Disparity in college Admission:
      • It will help tackle the problem of students of some state boards being at a disadvantage during college admissions as compared to their peers in CBSE schools.
    • Innovative Evaluation:
      • It will develop and implement the technical standards for the design, conduct, analysis and reporting of tests at all levels of school education.

Way Forward

  • PAREKH creates a level playing field and reduces the disparity among various state boards and further aims to facilitate an inclusive, participatory and holistic approach to education, which takes into consideration field experiences, empirical research, stakeholder feedback, as well as lessons learned from best practices.
  • It is a progressive shift towards a more scientific approach to education.
    • The prescribed structure will help to cater to the ability of the child – stages of cognitive development as well as social and physical awareness.

UPSC Civil Services Examination Previous Year Question (PYQ)

Prelims

Q. Consider the following statements: (2018)

  1. As per the Right to Education (RTE) Act, to be eligible for appointment as a teacher in a State, a person would be required to possess the minimum qualification laid down by the concerned State Council of Teacher Education.
  2. As per the RTE Act, for teaching primary classes, a candidate is required to pass a Teacher Eligibility Test conducted in accordance with the National Council of Teacher Education guidelines.
  3. In India, more than 90% of teacher education institutions are directly under the State Governments.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 
(d) 3 only

Ans: (b)

  • The academic authority notified by the Central Government, under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE), Act 2009, has laid down the minimum educational and professional qualifications for a person to be eligible for an appointment as a teacher for classes I-VIII, which are applicable to all schools imparting elementary education, including the schools under the State Governments. They have to clear a Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) in order to be eligible for being appointed as a teacher. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
  • Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) is conducted by the appropriate Government in accordance with the guidelines framed by the National Council of Teacher Education. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • The 2012 Verma Commission on Teacher education in its report pointed out that 90% of teacher education bodies were private. Hence, statement 3 is not correct. Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

Mains

Q. Education is not an injunction, it is an effective and pervasive tool for all-round development of an individual and social transformation”. Examine the New Education Policy, 2020 (NEP, 2020) in light of the above statement. (2020)

Source: IE