The congratulatory notes must have started circulating. That is for the students who have come out with flying colours in the just announced result of the Class XII examination conducted by the Council of Higher Secondary Education, Manipur (COHSEM). At the same time this is also the time for society as a whole to go in for some serious self introspection. Sure some students have done well, but just as a swallow does not make a Summer, the good showing of some students cannot reflect the overall performance of the students. Statistics, it is but it tells a significant story. With a pass percentage of 65.22 in this year’s Class XII examination, not all students can be said to have done well and this is a cause of concern. One here is talking about the pass percentage and study this against the backdrop of the global demand for excellence and it should be clear that there are numerous students who will not be a position to compete with their counterparts from the across the country and the world. So while a handful of students have done well and done justice to the tag of being students, there are many more students who are struggling to just pass the examination. This is worrying and this should give more than enough food to everyone to put on their thinking cap and see whether young students are being encouraged to pursue their studies without disturbances. And who disturbs their academic pursuit ? Does not need to spell this out particularly but it should be more than clear that for too long the academic pursuit of the young students has been compromised.
There is a reason why the pass percentage of just 65.22 pc is a cause for concern. Look at the performance of students in some boards such as the CBSE and the Indian Council of Secondary Education (ICSE) and the point that is sought to be made here should be more than clear. In the Class XII examination this year conducted by the ICSE, the pass percentage was a whooping 96.46. The CBSE is yet to declare the results of the Class X and Class XII examinations, but it may be noted that the pass percentage in the Class XII examination last year was 82. A more than clear reflection that students from other boards are doing much better than students affiliated to the COHSEM. This is where society as a whole need to ponder and see if the elders are actually helping the young students to pursue their studies without any disturbances. At the same time it will also be important to note that this time too it is the private schools which have hogged the limelight. The pass percentage in private schools has been pegged at 72.46 while in Government schools it is a pathetic 48.4 pc. And to think that teachers in Government schools are paid much more than their counterparts in the private schools and the rot in all Government schools becomes all that more glaring. Time for society and the Government to wake up to this ugly reality.
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