Cuttack: Despite the inclusion of 10 marks from internal assessments and 10 marks from aspirational components—making it easy to score 20 marks—this year’s matric exam has still seen 17,384 students fail. The matric examination consists of 50 marks for subjective and 50 marks for objective questions. A minimum of 20 marks overall would have sufficed to pass. Yet, such a large number of students have failed even with this simplified evaluation system. According to education experts, the failed students possibly couldn’t even read the question papers. They might have had no connection with books or notebooks and may have appeared for the exam solely due to obligation.
Not just the failed students, 8,362 students didn’t appear for the exam at all this year. There are concerns that many of these absentee students may still be enrolled in schools merely on paper and are practically disconnected from the education system. Combining the failed and absent students, the future of 25,746 students remains uncertain, raising serious questions. The School and Mass Education Department is under scrutiny for this.
Since 2020, the matric exam system and evaluation methods have undergone several changes. In 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no matric exams were held. Instead, results were declared based on 9th-grade assessments, annual and practice tests in the 10th grade. In 2022, marks from whichever assessment (summative assessments 1 or 2) had higher scores were considered for final results. As a result, even average-performing students could easily pass.
In 2024, internal assessment (10 marks) and aspirational components (10 marks) were excluded, and results were based on objective and subjective questions totaling 80 marks. Despite this, 17,384 students failed, which some say mocks the educational reform policies.
Former Board President Satyakam Mishra said passing the matric exam is not difficult anymore. Even with moderate effort, students can pass with good marks. Therefore, the failure of so many students indicates a need for investigation.
Regarding absentee students, Education Minister Nityananda Gond stated that over 5 lakh students appeared for the exam, so 8,000 absentees could be due to personal or social issues.
Internal assessments and summative assessments 1 and 2 were conducted at the school level and board level respectively. In 2022, even after using these evaluations, 7,790 students had failed. In 2023, another change in evaluation was introduced, shifting from weightage to a cumulative mark-based system.
Primary education standards are now under scrutiny. Because of the “All Pass” policy up to 9th grade, many students are unprepared for the 10th-grade syllabus. Satyakam Mishra also commented that many students listed in the register don’t even attend school. To meet targets, school principals fill up registers to show full strength. There’s a need to question whether attendance monitoring is actually being done.
Former Board President Sushanta Das added that the education system has been affected since COVID. With schools shut and online classes replacing in-person learning, the foundation of the education system has weakened. Additionally, the installation of CCTV in exam centers has curbed cheating. Hence, a spike in failures could also be attributed to this crackdown on malpractice.
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