MillenniumPost
Bengal

Red ink no more on answer scripts in primary schools

Kolkata: Errors marked in red in examination sheets in primary schools may soon be a thing of the past. The state Syllabus Restructure Committee has started communicating to the teachers in schools from pre-primary to class V, to do away with the practice of awarding zeroes or marking the mistakes of the students in red marks in their answer scripts.
"We believe that pointing out the mistakes of the teenagers by putting a zero in red ink creates a sense of fear in their mind. If we can work out a way in which we can highlight the good work done by a student and at the same time point out his/her mistakes, the love for studies will grow," said Avik Majumdar, chairman of the state Syllabus Restructure Committee.
According to a senior official of the Committee, the sense of failure creates a mental pressure in the mind of a teenager and a sense of unnecessary fear regarding studies grips him. It is this fear that results in dropouts. "If we can change this practice then the number of dropouts in the primary level will also come down," the official said.
The Syllabus Restructure Committee organises training of the teachers from time to time. Recently, a three-day training for teachers of a number of schools have been held.
"We have communicated our standpoint to them and they have accepted it. We hope that when they go back to school, they will follow the instructions," Majumdar said.
A senior official of the Committee said that there are a number of students who are prone to silly mistakes. They score well in certain subjects and fare badly in some others. "So pointing out their mistakes in such a fashion is not proper," he reasoned.
It may be mentioned that a number of countries in the world do not highlight the mistakes of students in this fashion.
"We are hopeful that this will augur well and will encourage students," the official said.

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