COVID-19 has been a good excuse to cover up for the poor performance of the students
The National Examination Board (NEA) on Wednesday published the results of the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) of the year 2078 BS (2022), taken at the end of class 10, which, unfortunately, show a sharp decline in students' performance compared to previous times. The NEA had categorised the results into eight grades, with just 1.94 per cent of the students graduating with the highest score of 3.6 to 4 GPA compared to 3.8 per cent in 2019.The exams were held in person in April/May after a hiatus of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The two previous batches of students were promoted through internal evaluation by the respective schools, which saw thousands of students scoring above 80 per cent even in theory subjects. Among the students who cleared the SEE without having to appear for the exams in 2020, as many as 9,010 students acquired a full GPA of 4.0 as against just 106 the previous year, when the exam was taken in person – an increase of 8,400 per cent, which is simply absurd. In the SEE results released on Wednesday, only 42 students scored a perfect 4 GPA.
Altogether 518,351 students – 260,878 girls and 259,486 boys from 11,615 schools – had registered for the exams, but 22,640 students did not appear for the SEE. The highest number of students, or 112,733 (22.74%), secured a 2 to 2.4GPA, which qualifies them to graduate to class 11.Similarly, 100,594 students (20.29%) secured 1.6 to 2.0 GPA, while there were more than 47, 000 students scoring less. Although a new directive was to be enforced from this year that would require students to obtain at least 35 per cent marks in theory and 40 per cent in practicals in each subject to graduate to class 11,the NEB had decided against it at the last moment, given that most schools were facing difficulty in completing the course on time as the classes had begun rather late due to the corona pandemic. The non-graded system under the new directive would have disqualified more than half of all examinees from furthering their education in college, according to media reports citing government sources.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a good excuse to cover up for the poor performance of the students this year. But the pass percentage in the SEE's previous avatar, the SLC (School Leaving Certificate) exams, had averaged less than 45 per cent. If there were to be no private schools, the SEE results would have been really disastrous. This calls for investing in the community schools, especially in the remote areas. It is no secret that politicisation of the education system has brought ruin to both school and higher education. Teachers were recruited based on their political affiliation under the bhagbanda system, which saw schools become a recruiting ground for party cadres who are non-committed to the teaching-learning process. Therefore, the Teachers Service Commission has the onus to recruit the best of teachers and not be swayed by party pressure or influence. The teachers will also need to be paid better than the civil servants if they are to be motivated and retained. There are other anomalies as well that need correction immediately if the future of our young citizens and the country is not to go astray.
Threat of adenovirus
Doctors at Kanti Children's Hospital have said that a large number of children in the Kathmandu Valley have recently been infected with a highly contagious adenovirus that causes high fever, sore throat, stomachupset, congestion, runny nose, cough and pneumonia. Of the 13 random samples collected by the hospital, 10 tested positive for adenovirus. Around 1,000 children had visited the hospital with similar symptoms on a daily basis over the past few weeks. This is three times the number children who had visited the hospital during the same period last year.
Although the virus does not pose a serious threat to the children's health, doctors have advised the parents to take extra care of their children to prevent them from catching pneumonia. The parents should especially take care of their children who are below one year of age to school-going students. This type of virus spreads faster during the monsoon than in the winter season. So, the parents should be careful while letting their kids venture out of their homes. Using an umbrella or a raincoat can prevent the children from infection. All schools should also educate their wards about the threat the virus can pose to them. Prevention is better than cure.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 29, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.