Open- book exams to check cheating?
The Akhilesh government in Uttar Pradesh is preparing to introduce an “openbook system” for students taking the Class 10 and 12 examinations of the UP Board from the next academic session 2016- 2017.
UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav asked Mr Balram Yadav, minister for secondary education, and Jitendra Kumar, principal secretary, secondary education department, to submit a detailed plan in this regard.
The open- book examination system allows the students to consult their text books during examination and this system is popular in several schools in Europe.
Dr R. P. Misra, principal of the Queen’s Inter College in Lucknow, recalls that the open- book system had been introduced on an experimental basis in the N. D. Tiwari government in 198889 but various teachers groups had strongly protested against the idea after which the state government withdrew the scheme.
“Children tend to think that with the open- book examination, they need not attend classes and study throughout the year but this is where they go wrong. In the open- book system, a child needs to study even more to be able to answer the questions that are differently framed in such examinations. If the child has not studied the entire book, he will
The UP board examinations conducts one of the world’s biggest examinations. However, the exams are infamous for rampant mass copying and use of unfair means.
spend all his time turning pages looking for the answer. It is not as easy as it sounds,” said a teacher a secondary school here.
The UP Board examinations in the state conducts one of the world’s biggest examinations with nearly 68 lakh students having enrolled for the examination in 2016 March.
However, the UP Board examinations are also infamous for rampant mass copying and use of unfair means.
As a result, students who succeed in the UP Board examination meet a poor success rate in other competitive examinations and courses.
“The chief minister has been concerned over the menace of copying in examinations in the state, especially during the board exams. The education mafia has penetrated deep and is ruining the education system and careers of students. He has taken note of the open- book system in various countries and came to the conclusion that the system will help check mass scale copying during exams,” said an official in the CM secretariat.