Mid-Day

Mumbai, Jun 10: Just chill. That’s the message the state government wants to give students of Std I to VIII and their parents.

These students will now have to take eight more tests from this academic year, starting June 12. But these tests will be simple, oral ones. This is in addition to the six exams they already appear for.

Said Vasant Purke, state education minister, “The eight tests will be oral and not written and the questions will be simple and based on the syllabus.”

Giving an example, Purke said a Std I student would be asked: ‘Name the animal shown in the picture’, while a Std VI student will get: ‘What is the spelling of education?’.

“That’s easy enough isn’t it?” asked Purke. He added that a Std III student would get: ‘What is the addition of 7 and 5?’ while a Std VIII student would be asked chemical equations.

The tests will be in the subjects English, Math, Environment Studies and a second language for 10 marks each.

Added Purke, “We only want to assess if the student has understood the lesson.”

These tests were introduced four months ago under the quality education development programme for standards I to VIII.

But the government has now decided to continue them, as it hopes to improve the quality of education. They will be in addition to the regular four unit tests, a mid-term exam and an annual exam.

Purke added, “The students who fail in these tests will get additional coaching. The tests will not have any additional burden on students, as they mean just eight hours throughout the year. This experiment is recognised by the union government.”