80 per cent students having compartment fail to clear Class IX

Naina Mishra

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 26

Nearly 80 per cent of students who couldn’t pass the final year Class IX examination have again failed to make a cut in the reappear exams held in first week of October and have been detained in the same class.

Out of 3,950 Class IX students placed under compartment, only 401 students could pass the reappear exam, while 3,182 students have been detained in the 2019-20 session. These students have failed despite been given 30 grace marks due to the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

As many as 38 government schools could not see any students passing the compartment exams. A majority of students who have failed in the compartment exams belong to schools in the periphery areas of the city. Some of the schools where no student has passed the exam include GHS Khajeri, GHS Hallomajra, GHS Daria, GHS Sarangpur and GHS Indira Colony MM, GMHS Dhanas, GMHS Karasn.

Failure of no detention policy

However, this is not the first time that so many students have failed in Class IX. The Class IX results can be best attributed to the policy of not detaining child until Class VIII under the continuing “no detention policy” and thus making weak students complacent and non- serious till they face detention.

In the 2018-19 session, the department maintained a tough stand by discontinuing the practice of awarding 15-20 grace marks to students, a result of which led to the pass percentage of Class IX fall to 55.05 per cent in 2018-19, a fall by 17 per cent.

A total of 1,572 Cclass IX students had failed last year despite being given two chances to reappear in tests. This was for the first time that the education department decided to give a second chance to students in wake of the repeal of grace marks policy in session 2018-2019.

A union leader of UT government school teacher said, “The students studying in government schools do not attend classes regularly till Class VIII as they know that no one will detain them till completion of elementary education. Thus, they tend to become more complacent towards studies. Their concepts are not clear yet somehow they manage to clear Class VIII. But when these weak students reach Class IX, they are unable to cope with the level of academic skills needed, and hence the failure rate shoots up in Class IX.”