Date:11/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/11/stories/2008091160981300.htm

National

Gujarat puts on hold ‘open book’ exam system

Special Correspondent

GANDHINAGAR: The Gujarat Cabinet at its meeting here on Wednesday held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Narendra Modi decided to keep in abeyance for one year the implementation of the “open book” examination system for secondary students.

Cabinet spokesman Jaynarayan Vyas and Education Minister Ramanbhai Vora expressed resentment at the “premature” announcement by State Secondary Education Board chairman Rohit Pathak about the implementation of the decision from the current academic year itself.

Mr. Vyas said the Cabinet decided to appoint a committee of experts and educationists to evaluate the “open book” system, under which the students were to be allowed to take their text-books into the examination halls, before implementing it.

He said the Board’s decision to implement the system from the current academic year had been suspended at least for one year. If the experts’ panel gave the go-ahead, it would be implemented from the 2009-10 academic year.

The Board chairman had announced the decision on Monday facilitating the students of standards eight, nine and ten to carry the text-books into the examination halls.

He had also said that if the experiment at the secondary level was successful, the system would be extended to class 11 and 12 from the next academic year.

The decision had evoked mixed reaction in the academic circles in the State with many teachers and parents hailing it as a “revolutionary measure” to reduce “mugging” by students and encouraging them to “truly learn and understand the subjects.” Some others, however, had expressed apprehension about implementing the decision in a hurry and felt it could be counter-productive if loopholes were not plugged.

Pradesh Congress president Siddhartha Patel criticised the State government for “playing with the future of the students” by announcing a new system one day and reverting to the old one within 48 hours. Apparently hitting out at the Chief Minister, he said it was unfortunate that the secondary education board was made to work under ‘political pressure.’