Board exams

The proposal to make the Class X board examination optional so as to relieve students of the stress they face is ludicrous.

It appears that the HRD Minister Mr Kapil Sibal has sought lessons from Kerala Education Minister Mr M. A. Baby who has diluted the evaluation system in the State by giving no significance to marks or grades.

A little competition and stress is needed to prepare students for the big bad world. Abandoning examinations is no solution. It is not examinations but parental pressure that has a negative effect on the psyche of students. The authorities need to play a constructive role in helping students manage examination-related stress and make them feel that an examination is just another test in life.

The Government must no doubt reform the education system, but the big changes can wait.
K A Solaman
The Business line, 2 July 2009