Class 10 students want 50% marks from internal tests
60% of respondents said they studied only half the syllabus; face difficulties in online learning
MUMBAI: As schools in the city continue to teach online for the past 10 months, a majority of the students are stressed about the upcoming Class 10 state board exams, a recent survey has indicated.
According to the survey, 83% students in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai want internal evaluations to form 50% of the weightage of the total board exams scores.
The survey was conducted by Jaywant Kulkarni, a teacher from Gandhi Bal Mandir High School in Kurla, with the help of Google Forms. Over a thousand students from across 110 schools responded to the survey, with a majority of them from Mumbai, followed by Thane and Navi Mumbai.
The findings of the survey showed that over 60% of students reported they had only managed to study up to 50% of the syllabus for the board exams this year. Such students said online learning was not enough for them to gain confidence to write board exams. Around 65% of respondents said they were worried about not being able to complete their papers in time, as they had lost writing practice. For instance, Monica Sakhre, a Class 10 student from Samta High School, Andheri, said there is a lot of anxiety among students in her class regarding the boards. “We haven’t written papers in the school like students do every year. Our prelims are also being held online which is not the same thing as offline exams. Many students had migrated to their hometowns and lost on a lot of learning. We hope the state considers our woes,” she added.
The Class 10 exams will be held between April 29 and May 31. While the exams are held in March, they have been postponed this year owing to the pandemic and the lockdown. Despite this, however, nearly half of the students surveyed said they still did not get enough time to prepare. As per the responses, nearly 80% of schools are yet to finish their syllabus. Most students were worried about clearing geometry and science 1 exams.
Kulkarni said there is a lot of anxiety among students about the exams this year, especially in Mumbai, as schools are still shut. “Online learning is not enough for these students and because physical schools are shut, they are not able to get personalised attention that is usually provided in schools. While students are extremely worried, there is no change in the paper pattern or the difficulty level of board exams which is making them even more concerned,” he added.
Supporting the findings, a civic school principal said children from low-income households were at a bigger loss due to school closures. “Many families are already facing financial burden and can’t afford coaching classes. Students are completely dependent on schools. While teachers are trying their best, it is challenging to reach out to children online. We hope that schools are allowed to reopen soon,” said the principal.