Implementation of the semester system for Board classes by the Punjab School Education Board is in a controversy yet again. This time, teachers and students have expressed anger over the conduct of two exams in a single day for students getting compartment in their first semester.
Talking to The Tribune, a school principal said that once the students get a compartment in their first semester, they have to take the exam during their second semester. “But the problem is that the Board takes the compartment exam on the very day when they have their second semester exam for the same subject, which means that students have to take two papers on the same day for same subject. As it is, these students are already weak in the subject. They get a compartment and two exams means covering the syllabus for both semesters, simultaneously. How can we expect good results from them?” she added.
Another teacher said this puts unnecessary pressure on the student. “Once one semester is over, we don’t teach that syllabus again, as a result the students have to prepare for the compartment exam on their own. Moreover, they have to study for the second semester as well.
I had a student who scored 15 marks out of 70 and failed in first semester. After taking his compartment paper, he just got 5 marks, because he was studying for the second semester. I don’t understand why the Board officials were not paying any heed to such commonly faced problems,” she added.
Rajwinder Kaur failed in chemistry in the first semester and could not clear it even in her second chance because she had to prepare the syllabus for both semesters on the same day. “If I would get a couple of days in between to study for compartment exams, I might manage to clear the paper but I could not clear the paper. Moreover, I scored very less even in the second semester because of divided attention,” she rued.
The Chairman of the Board, Dr Dalbir Singh Dhillon, when contacted in this regard said these were lame excuses. “We have two semesters and have to complete exams in a minimum period. If we start giving gaps in all papers, our exams will stretch to over a month and we will have no time to complete the syllabus. Therefore, we have properly planned this schedule as it is easy to study for one subject on the same day as things are fresh in the memory. Only weak students give such excuses,” he further added
