Kathmandu, July 7:

Educationists today underscored the need to do away with the existing School Leaving Examination (SLC) board and suggested class 12 be made the exit point of the school level education.

Laxman Rajbanshi, the founder principal of Siddhartha Vanasthali Institute, said the marking system in the SLC board is not right and hence the government should adopt and strictly

follow the grading system.

Addressing an interaction organised by the Education Journalists’ group, Rajbanshi said: “The SLC examination put much pressure on the students and that has to be stopped.”

Talking about a board topper girl committing suicide nearly three decades ago when she failed in the intermediate level, he said: “The impact on the students’ psychology has not been studied by the government.”

Dr Mana Prasad Wagley said a conspiracy may be going on as the Office of the Controller of Examinations (OCE) said it would provide the list of the top ten students only to an authorised body upon a request after a week.

“The yearly pass percentage difference in the SLC examination results brings to light the negligence going on in the Office of the Controller of Examinations. The evaluation policy says that the results have to be either static or show a steady growth,” Dr Wagely said.

While 46.51 per cent students passed the examination this year, 38.72 per cent students cleared the exams last year. 46.18 per cent in 2004 and 32.05 per cent in 2003.

Dr Wagley said the government should come up with a clear and consistent policy on whether or not to announce the names of the toppers of the SLC examination.

He added that toppers should not be used in advertising institutions, thus protecting them from mental exploitation.

Stating that the grading system is a good system he said the government must first study it in bold detail before adopting it. All major decisions like doing away with the tradition to announce the names of the toppers should be taken by the government and not the SLC board, he said. “The monopoly of the SLC board must end,” he said.

“Ironically, the country saw good SLC results whenever there was disturbance in the education sector during the conflict,” said Mohan Gyawali, the president of Nepal Teachers’ Association.

Lakshya Bahadur KC, the general secretary of Private and Boarding Schools Organisation Nepal (PABSON), said the government should reward all the 4,000 students who managed to get distinction in this year’s SLC exams.

Baburam Adhikary, the general secretary of Nepal National Teachers’ Association (NNTA), said: “The education policy itself is defective and necessary amendments have to be made in it.”