Education system has collapsed under burden of exams, innovative assessment practice needed: Manish Sisodia

NEW DELHI: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday said the education system has collapsed under the burden of examinations and there is a need to revive it through innovative assessment practices.

He said until the current examination system is changed, the entire education system will remain a "slave" to the three-hour annual examination system. Attending the 13th education conference 'Educarnival' organised by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Delhi, Sisodia said the most pressing reform in the Indian education system is the change in the traditional examination and assessment systems.

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"The learning process will remain only a battle to pass the exam. Until the current examination system is changed, the entire education system will remain a slave of the three-hour annual examination. We have progressed with time but still have not been able to move away from rote assessment systems," he said.

Sisodia said the present examination system is designed to pass or fail children on the basis of marks instead of assessing their learning levels, strengths and weaknesses. Addressing school leaders and teachers from all over the country, he said, "The education system has collapsed under the burden of examinations and we need to revive it through innovative assessment practices.

"The children, parents and all stakeholders in the education system are scared of examinations here. To change the examination and assessment system in Delhi, we have set up a new state board- Delhi Board of School Education (DBSE). Along with this, we have started making some unique changes in the system too." He said even the report cards by DBSE have unique features and instead of stating pass or fail to a student in the report card, DBSE gives subject-specific qualitative remarks.