Thiruvananthapuram: The Director of Public Education S Shanavas has slammed the system of awarding marks without merit in Kerala's Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination. He was speaking at a workshop related to the SSLC examination.
"Nowadays, even children incapable of reading are awarded an A+. Awarding up to 50 per cent marks is acceptable. But one should not give liberal marks to increase the number of A+ students. Marks beyond 50 per cent should be achieved through merit alone. Otherwise, we will become worthless. Exams should become a test of skills," the Director of Public Education said.
“Getting an A plus should not be an easy task. During my school days, only 5000 people had the distinction in SSLC. Now 69,000 people have A+. Many of these student do not know how to read. They don't know how to write their own name.”
“There was a time when our education sector was compared to European standards. But now children in Kerala are far behind in their ability to understand and find answers,” he added.
The pass percentage for SSLC exam was 99.7 per cent this year. A total of 68,604 students secured A+ in all subjects. Last year, there was a pass percentage of 99.2%. 44,363 got A+ in all subjects. The workshop of the Department of Education was held in November.