What sounds pretty much like the punchline of a popular chocolate ad –“Beta mann mein laddu phoota” – stands true for the students taking exams in Kashmir this winter.
In a bid to restore educational activities and regain normalcy in the region, the state government has announced multiple incentives like mass promotion and reduced syllabus for the students. The school children, other than those who had to appear for the board exams, have been given mass promotions.
This is second mass promotion in two years. In 2015, the government had announced mass promotion on similar lines when exams couldn’t be held in the wake of September 2014 floods. This time, while exams for class 10 and 12 students are being held as scheduled, there’s 50 percent relaxation on syllabus.
The government took this incentive as students were reluctant to sit for the exams. The protesting students had pleaded that they had not completed even half of their syllabus due to the continued closure of schools amid heavy protests since July.
As if this was not enough, the government has also offered them another incentive. The Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Education has given the students an option to appear for exams in November or March next year as well. But while those taking exams this year have to study only half of their syllabus, those opting for exams next year will have to go with the whole syllabus.
The results, however, were obvious. The students preferred to grab the offer and there was 95 per cent turnout for the boards.
College students also benefited from these incentives . The engineering students of the Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST), Awantipora, were equally unwilling to appear for their exams. However, the varsity offered them multiple choice questions instead of the descriptive exam.
While both the state and the central governments celebrate “successful” conduct of exams, educationists apprehend that such pass-outs will be ill-prepared for further studies.
