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Recently the Ministry of Education has received an “equivalence report” by PARAKH. What does equivalence mean and how can it be achieved across different school boards of India.
PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), a standard-setting body under the NCERT, has recently submitted to the Ministry of Education an ‘equivalence’ report, which makes recommendations on how equivalence can be achieved across different school boards in the country, in keeping with a mention of it in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Different school boards:
- The school boards now are different from one another, in terms of factors including curriculum, examinations, and the structure and functioning of the board itself, resulting in some boards being seen as “better” than others.
- There are 69 school boards in the country, including the State boards – some are secondary boards only, some are for higher secondary, and some are common for both – and CBSE, ICSE, the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) and other open school boards, technical and vocational boards, Sanskrit boards, and madrasa boards.
Equivalence, not uniformity:
- The NEP provides for the formation of a body like PARAKH, and states that PARAKH “will also become an instrument for the sharing of best practices among school boards, and for ensuring equivalence of academic standards among learners across all school boards.”
- The ‘equivalence’ report sets standards for the boards across five categories – administration, curriculum, assessment, inclusiveness, and infrastructure.
- The intention behind pursuing equivalence is not to establish “uniformity” across boards, but ensure that “every learner who enrols in a school affiliated in any board should get certain standardised, benchmarked facilities for performance.”
Recommendations made by PARAKH:
- Cumulative result: A key recommendation is in terms of assessment – a student’s performance in Class 9, 10, and 11 will count towards the final assessment for Class 12. The Class 12 report card is envisaged as a ‘cumulative’ one, and a weight of 15% for Class 9, 20% for Class 10, 25% for Class 11, and 40% for Class 12 will go into the final Class 12 results.
- Holistic progress card: These assessments be in terms of credits in each grade, with the student earning a certain number of credits for each subject, for pursuing online courses, and for activities that are part of the holistic progress card – a progress card which will include the student’s evaluation of themselves in aspects like ‘time management’ and ‘plans after school’, the teacher’s assessment of the student in group project work, and peer feedback.
- Periodic review & Granting affiliations: PARAKH’s recommendation says that the boards should conduct periodic reviews of affiliated schools, and affiliations should be granted for a maximum period of three years only. PARAKH has also recommended that the boards be empowered to do this, in addition to being given the authority to identify unrecognised institutions and take action against them.
- Digital Literacy: In terms of curriculum, the boards are to incorporate digital literacy in affiliated schools, including training in coding and cybersecurity, and adhere to the National Curriculum Framework for School Education.
- Exam Protocol: The recommendations suggest that boards develop a mechanism to prevent cheating in examinations, implement protocol for handling exam papers, and conduct digital assessments where applicable.
- Infrastructure of the schools: In terms of infrastructure of the schools affiliated with them, the boards are to ensure availability of basic infrastructure – toilets for girls and boys, internet, library, strong room for question papers, labs, ramps, or elevators.
PARAKH-a vital role for achievement of Equivalence:
- A total of 32 boards, excluding the Sanskrit boards, madrasas, and technical boards from the total number in the country, were assessed according to the five parameters – administration, curriculum, assessment, inclusiveness, and infrastructure – to determine their present status.
- An analysis of two years’ worth of question papers of the boards, and a questionnaire with questions on five parameters was used for this.
- PARAKH held meetings with the school boards to work on the recommendations.
‘Equivalence’ aspect is a “challenging” part of the NEP to implement and is set to be a slow process, since the boards will have to agree to making the changes that the report envisages, rather than just being “examination conducting bodies.”