The aim to bring equivalence
nStandardising learning and assessment as per NCF
n Providing mobility to students with all boards.
n Ensuring a level playing field for students for all the entrance tests.
n Each board is likely to have liberty of formating eligibility conditions for Class 11.

Taking serious cognisance of receipt of favour to students of certain school education boards in various entrance tests, the Central Government is contemplating granting equivalence to these boards. The responsibility has been bestowed upon the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) which would form a committee for the preparation of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). The SOP will see whether all school boards would comply with Right to Education Act (RTE), National Curriculum Framework (NCF) and National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) norms. In the first week of September, the education ministry entrusted the responsibility of granting equivalence to PARAKH (Performance, Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development). At present there are over 60 school education boards in India at national and regional levels, having disparity with regard to curriculum design, curriculum transaction and curriculum evaluation. Unfortunately there is no regulation to make all of them equivalent immediately.

 

Last year PARAKH had prepared a report for establishing equivalence among the boards. With its experience, as it has been working on this particular aspect, analysing the boards’ functioning. Now, according to sources, PARAKH has constituted a committee of experts from various fields but related to education who will draft SOP. The SOP expected to cover all the angles which the school boards would follow. How the committee would deal with the two international boards –The International Baccalaureate and the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) or Cambridge – is a million-dollar question, as there are over 800 such schools affiliated to these boards. Chief Executive Officer of Meghe Group of Schools Abha Meghe said, “This is a good step, and it should bring equivalence among students too. At the same time, I would suggest that while draughting SOP, the structure of various boards should be taken into consideration.

 

The structure in urban and rural areas is different. The availability of teachers and various facilities have to be taken into account. It is difficult to map the difference between CBSE and the State board. Secondly, every state has their own regional language. If that problem is not dealt with in a proper manner, then students may face learning difficulties. I think every board should be given a kind of freedom as to how much part of NCERT should be absorbed and how the state’s curriculum concepts to be adopted. While introducing the new system the care should be taken that the present one should not be disturbed.” Dipti Bisht, the Science Teacher at Surendragarh Hindi School run by Nagpur Municipal Corporation pointed out, “If the system is brought in a sudden manner, then students may get confused. The time required for settling down such a system is a minimum of three years. If it is implemented slowly, then students will be able to adapt properly. Already state board has started adopting the curriculum of the level of CBSE. But we need to understand the grasping power and capacity of the student to cope with the standard curriculum.”