Changes in exams

The government is reported to be contemplating changes in the public examinations system, which is held responsible to a great extent for the poor showing in the SSC examinations. It is a good sign that the planners have felt the need for doing something when such a huge number of students have stumbled at the very outset of their academic career, that is, the first public examination. Obviously, matters must change for the better as such a huge number of unsuccessful candidates means both wastage of money and time.

However, the government's action plan must take into account some relevant points. Even if it is true that the steps taken to check copying in examination halls account for the poor percentage of successful candidates, the fact remains that the education system has failed miserably to deliver the results expected of it.

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The planners must tread carefully and do a lot of thinking since the task of raising the standard of education is far from simple. Mere changes in the mode of examinations may not bring about the desired changes in the overall system of education. A recent report published in a Bangla daily said that many schools outside Dhaka are desperately short of English teachers. It is difficult to suggest how students can learn this foreign language when there is no teacher. So the emphasis now should be on training of teachers which will ultimately raise the standard of classroom teaching. A number of recommendations and suggestions have been put forward in this respect by the experts and the government's task is to examine them carefully and accept the most suitable ones.

The idea of assigning the schools a greater role in examinations by allowing them to give 30 out of 100 marks will also work well in practice only if the schools have trained and qualified teachers.

The issue of changing the curricula deserves attention because we can ill afford to lag behind other countries in the region. The latest developments taking place across the globe must influence the making of the curricula.

Finally, monitoring the performance of the teachers alongside that of the students is necessary to streamline the system of education.