Priyanka Mehta (ed. Apoorva Tapas), June 16, 2012

Extra marks for time spent in coaching classes; parents to be awarded marks for completing students’ homework

The Central Board of Secondary Education has found a way for you to score 700 marks out of 600 in Class 10 and 12 exams. It has made some changes to the marking pattern after it found students scoring just 100% marks in their board exams.

Students to be awarded marks for the time they spend in coaching classes

A committee asked to find ways for higher scoring has proposed that students be awarded marks for the time they spend in coaching classes.

“There will be some method to quantify the time spent in coaching classes,” said an official at the CBSE. “A formula will convert the hours into marks. A maximum of 50 marks can be earned, and will be added to the total.”

Coaching institutes can use biometric systems to log in the hours students spent in classes, the committee has suggested. The system, it said, can also check blood pressure and resting heart rate once a fortnight.

“Time is crucial here, not pace,” said a spokesperson of coaching institute Tyme smugly, obviously pleased with his quaint marketing pun. “If this happens, students will think twice before bunking. The tests will show if the student has been adequately fatigued or stressed. In the unfortunate situation that a student is found fit, healthy and attentive, we’ll increase ‘dosage’ of classes.”

Parents to be awarded marks for completing students’ homework well

There will be an additional 50 marks up for grabs based on the parents’ ability to complete homework and projects, if the committee’s recommendations are accepted. A separate section will be added in the examination mark sheets reserved especially for the parents.

“Parents do the assignments and projects while the children take credit for it,” said a committee member. “This is a widely accepted practice that has gone unrewarded for far too long. Now parents will be awarded marks for their efforts too. This will reduce the workload on the students, who can use this free time wisely and spend it in coaching classes. This will provide a much needed break from school work.”

Ms. Anne George, teacher at a Chennai school, told us: “In PTA meetings, we will be assessing the parents’ work, not the students’, who will be at their coaching classes anyway. Receiving marks will give parents validation for their skills and hard work. Moreover, this will create bad blood between parents and make them competitive too, hence bridging the generation gap.”