Failing a paper in college will now come at a cost. The college students will have to pay Nu 1000 each for every paper they resit or reappear. The Royal University of Bhutan decided this October last year. It is to encourage students to study consistently and work hard. The change will come into effect this spring and will not impact students from the previous autumn semester.
The college students failing in some papers have been reappearing or sitting for reassessment exams for free, until now.
The Reassessment exam is permitted only if students fail in less than 30 per cent of the modules that is about two papers in a semester. Otherwise, students have to repeat the semester. Generally, there are five modules or papers in a semester. Paying for repeating a semester is not new.
The Royal University of Bhutan said students were not taking the reassessment exam seriously. And there is a reason.
“Our assessment regulations prescribe that the students have to be able to obtain a minimum of 50 per cent to be able to pass a module. And for the reassessment, even if the student, you know, obtains more than 50 per cent in the reassessment exam, what goes into the actual result for that reassess module is 50 per cent. And we have noted that the students, this was one of the demotivating factors,” said Rinchen Dorji (PhD), Pro Vice-Chancellor.
Therefore, they fail deliberately so that they can have higher marks reflected in the final result after repeating a module.
He said including the original marks achieved during reassessments in the final result would be unfair to students who pass the semester in the first attempt.
“This new policy is a very good initiative as it can encourage students to be hard working and it can also build a sense of responsibility among the students. However, especially for the self-financed students and especially for the students coming from the financially challenged backgrounds, it might be a little harder for them as it limits the second chance,” said Tshering Dorji, Sherubtse College student.
“To some extent, this policy change may help improve the academic achievement of students. However, for those students who are academically and financially struggling, it’s very difficult to cope with. So, we would be grateful if the university gives us a chance or opportunity to have reassessment without having to pay for it,” said Jigme Tshering, Sherubtse College Student.
According to the Royal University of Bhutan, this change will encourage students to focus on doing well in semester-end exams on their first attempt, rather than relying on reassessments.
“We wanted to make the students realize that there is a cost that they will have to pay for not doing well in their first attempt itself. And with this kind of consideration, we wanted to encourage the students to value the importance of preparing well in their very first attempt so that they do not have to fail and pay for the reassessment,” said Rinchen Dorji (PhD), Pro Vice-Chancellor.
The initiative is expected to prioritize the larger benefit of colleges and students to uphold the quality and standards of learning.
Sonam Yuden
Edited by Tandin Phuntsho
