Emphasis on writing skills

Workshop to train teachers in new SSLC pattern

Subject experts Gundappa and Satish trained the teachers at the workshop, which was organised under the guidance of the Board’s Joint Director Jayalakshmi and DDPI office’s Education Officer Nagendra Prasad.
Speaking to reporters after the workshop, they said the examination pattern had been changed based on the feedback received by the public and experts. The Board had chosen 16 teachers from every taluk in the district to undergo the workshop and similar workshops will be organised in other districts too.

No MCQs
Last year, the ratio between multiple choice questions (MCQs) and essay type questions was 60:40 for core subjects and 40:60 for languages. However, after the criticism from various quarters that this format would harm the writing skills of the students, the Board has decided to do away with  MCQs.
In the new pattern, students who have a flair for writing will be able to score more marks. “Instead of MCQs, we will have question patterns like fill in the blanks, match the following, questions which require one line precise answers with no choices, two marks questions,” the officials said and added that there would also be five and 10 marks questions.

The officials said that the workshop would train teachers in setting question papers based on this format. The teachers trained at the district-level will pass on the information to teachers in the taluk level, so that preliminary examinations conducted before the board exams will follow the same pattern.

Steps to increase results
The district stands in the 29th place in terms of SSLC results in the State and the Education department plans to undertake measures to bring it to the 20th position. A total of 36 schools which secured less than 50 pass percentage last year have been identified and been placed under the direct charge of education department officials.
Three schools are directly under the charge of the deputy director of the department. The department also plans to organise regular meetings of the principals and teachers across the district.