The Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa’s pledge to do away with the exams for classes PP to six raised a few eyebrows and met with mixed reactions in Monggar.
Speaking at the common forum in Thridangbi village of Saling Gewog, the DNT’s Kengkhar_Weringla consistency candidate Kunzang Drukpa said the pledge is aimed at closing the achievement gap between high-performing students and others.
The party believes the students should instead be assessed based on their classwork, participation and other formative assessments.
“Students stress about exams and the tests also widen the achievement gap among the different student groups,” Kunzang Drukpa explained.
Some of the people who attended the common forum in Thridangbi said the introduction of such a system would be both good and bad.
“On one hand, it sounds like a great idea but on the other hand, it might compromise the quality of education. For poor farmers like us, it would be good not to have exams,” Kuenzang Wangdi said.
“It would be good because students will not have to compete with each other for positions, but I worry about the implications it would have on our children in the future. They might face problems later when they reach high schools, colleges and universities where they have to sit for exams,” Tshewang Dorji said.
The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa’s Kengkhar_Weringla candidate, Rinzin Jamtsho, also shared similar concerns.
“Such a move might please a few students and parents. But what we need to understand is its future implication. Quality of education is a concern already and doing away with exams for classes PP to six will not help,” DPT’s Rinzin Jamtsho said.
The National Education Policy (Draft) 2018 states the assessment of student learning shall be based on learning standards prescribed in the school curriculum, and shall include standardized holistic school level assessment and national examinations.
