Government-run Schools in Maharashtra to have three tests in a year

In order to improve the quality of education in the government-run schools in Maharashtra, there would be three tests conducted in an academic year as pointed out by the Maharashtra government. During the question hour in the legislative council the state education minister Vinod Tawde made the announcement and made it clear that one among the three tests in a year would be on the lines of common board exam.

Tawde further said that due to misappropriate judgment of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, there are many schools at present that have stopped conducting tests for children. The question of “declining” quality was raised in the legislation by the Congress MLC Husnabano Khalife in the government run schools in the state due to schools stooping conducting examinations for classes I-VIII citing norms under RTE.

In reply to her query Tawde said, “We are planning to conduct three tests a year. Two would be internal tests and one basic test. This is to understand quality of the education imparted to the students. We will help schools to improve their performance by taking appropriate measures.”

He said that the schools would be instructed about the decision of the government through notices and pointed out that the miss-interpretation of the RTE Act must be clarified now.

Khalife further wanted to know about the parameters over deciding the quality of education and asked if the government is keen on re-starting the exams. Tawde, while addressing the media said that the basic tests announced would be in the lines with that of the board exams and would be common for students learning in all the schools.