Majhar Mannan :
Most of the students in Bangladesh suffer from inferiority complex after getting auto pass last year and thus, a kind of mentality is created in them that they have passed without the exams and will not be properly evaluated in the society. There has been an stagnation in the entire education system since March 2000 and the students have already suffered irreparable losses. The lives of about 40 million students in the country have fallen into uncertainty and they are suffering from various mental health problems and losing spontaneity.
An effort is being made to compensate the students by conducting classes online but various problems have already emerged such as many students are already addicted to mobile phones and they are going astray. Moreover, the attendance of 100% students in online classes is not ensured. Attempts have been made by the government at various times to reopen educational institutions and to hold important public examinations, but this has not been possible due to the rise of corona infections.
The corona virus infection situation in the country is deteriorating day by day and with it the number of holidays in educational institutions is increasing. As a result it does not seem possible to take the test as planned. Earlier, the Ministry of Education had decided to take SSC and HSC examinations on the basis of short syllabus but it seems that it will not be possible so the government is thinking differently. It is learned that the formation of National Assessment Advisory Committee is also being considered. Initially some alternative methods are being discussed such as assignment method, short question answer method and in case of HSC, to combine JSC and SSC or equivalent results. Similarly, in case of SSC examination, it is being considered assignment method, short question and answer method and to combine the result of JSC. SSC examination is usually held in February and HSC in April every year but these two examinations have not been held since last year due to the corona epidemic. But earlier the Ministry of Education had decided that SSC and HSC students would have the opportunity to join classes for more than two months and then they would appear in the examination according to the short syllabus. But in the current context of the corona epidemic, it will no longer be possible, so the government is considering some alternatives.
However, students want to sit in the exam and they want to pass with good result. In addition to taking assignments, there is a need to think about whether it is possible to take a short test or MCQ through online. In the meantime, various good institutions in the big cities of the country, including the capital Dhaka, are taking online exams under their own management. These tests are basically taken in Google Form and the questions contained here are given in MCQ method. Students who have smartphones and have access to the net can easily participate in the test in this Google form and answer the question nicely. But in remote areas of the country where there is no net facility and where students do not have smartphones, it is difficult and impossible for them to participate in exams.
But if the government can ensure net facility and smartphone facility for SSC and HSC candidates then exam boards can easily take the exam in Google form and in that case the assessment will be fair. If the test is taken in Google form then there is no problem in making the result. It is possible to make the result very quickly and in a short time and give it to the students. But if a large number of students have to participate in Google forms, there will be need a master plan and a large mechanism.
Again, there is a need to have a specific plan for assessment through assignments and there is a need to have a clear policy on how to take the assignment from such a large number of students and where they will submit it and how it will be evaluated. However, different types of alternative methods may be considered in assessing the students but in that case the master plan has to be adopted in advance and the students have to give both opportunity and time. Again, if the assessment is done through assignment, there may be discrimination between the students of the village and the city as the students of the city can easily prepare the assignment with their suitable teacher which the students of the village cannot.
HSC candidates have been given auto passes in 2020 and they have not yet got the chance to get admission in any university and they are passing the time through an uncertainty. There are various complications in taking online exams, but those complications can be easily overcome if master plan is taken in advance. The online exams can be taken step by step without taking all the students’ exams together. However, we hope that the National Assessment Advisory Committee will do something new and come up with an examination method that will benefit the students soon and the students will be able to participate in the examination very soon.
(Mr. Mannan is Assistant Professor, BAF Shaheen College Kurmitola, Dhaka Cantonment).
