‘Class X pass percentage dip marginal but maths score could have been better’

Kolkata: Schools in Kolkata are not too disappointed with the Class X results despite the 1.3% dip in pass percentage countrywide. Principals say the results reflect the resilience of students who had overcome the challenges posed during the pandemic to beat much of the learning gaps and bounce back with positivity.
However, there are some who feel the results in mathematics have been a let-down with not as many students scoring 100% as they had expected.
“The mathematics score has not been satisfactory. One of the reasons could be that it is difficult to learn the subject online,” said Asian International School principal Vijay Lakhsmi Kumar.
According to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan principal Arun Kumar Dasgupta, the slight dip in pass percentage is not a setback considering the enormous challenges that students had faced during the pandemic.
“We cannot deny that there have been learning gaps because crucial years were spent attending online classes. There were socio-economic and behavioural issues. Lack of socialization also affected students. So considering the challenges and trauma, these students have performed exceedingly well,” said Dasgupta.
Abhinav Bharati High School principal Sraboni Samanta is also relieved that the students have done well. “Till December, we were worried as students were not performing satisfactorily. We conducted three pre-board exams. The transition from online to offline classes has been difficult for students and teachers and the introduction of competency-based questions added to the challenges,” she said.
With CBSE gradually changing pattern of question papers each year to assess the competency of students, principals say they will focus more on reasoning-based learning rather than memorizing facts.
Priyadarshinee Guha, vice principal of Indus Valley World School, said she was happy to see that students had bounced back with positivity. “As soon as they returned to school after the pandemic, we identified the areas where they needed more focus and guided them to tackle competency-based questions.”