Board Exams are made mandatory now to the students of fifth and sixth grades all over the province announced by the Punjab Education Department. The exams will be done within the Punjab Education Curriculum Training and Assessment Authority (PECTAA).
The official notification shows that the decision is made following the bad results of students in the ninth and tenth-grade results. Officials feel that early exposure to standardized tests will establish and enhance better academic capabilities, enhance cognitive competencies, and will enhance the future performance in senior classes.
School heads are to begin its preparations immediately, and institutions are also required to send detailed improvement plans to the academic institution to fit into the new structure. According to education experts, this step can change the preparedness of students as long as both the support material and training of the teachers are given priority.
The Punjab Teachers Union however has been against the policy and they recall that previous attempts to conduct grade five assessments had not yielded any results. They tell them that the department ought to be interested in a coherent long-term structure rather than short-term solutions.
Read more: Punjab Announces New Date for Matric Supplementary Exams
The new system will be used this year despite this criticism. The Education Department argues that performance and accountability should be instilled earlier in the education system through the introduction of Board Exams in order to achieve improved learning results throughout Punjab.
