Kerala General Education Minister alleges ''carelessness'' in CBSE evaluation system

Kerala General Education Minister N Samsudheen on Sunday alleged ''carelessness'' on the part of CBSE in the evaluation of answer sheets and said that the state government will urge the Centre to intervene in the matter and address the students' concerns.

Speaking to a TV channel here, Samsudheen also said that the state government will urge the Centre to extend the date of the re-evaluation process.

He further said that the ''carelessness'' on the part of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in evaluating the answer sheets will significantly impact the future of the students, ''but the Board does not understand it''.

On the issue of the availability of textbooks in government-run schools in the state before they reopen on June 1, the minister said that there were hurdles in the printing of the books, but it has been almost completed.

He said that there was maximum intervention on the part of the government in the matter, and completely printed books are being sent to book depots for distribution.

''The government has been given an assurance by Kerala Books and Publications Society (KBPS) that all textbooks will reach all the schools on or before May 30,'' Samsudheen said.

''We are keeping track of the process. We 100 per cent believe that all the books required at the start of the new academic session on June 1 for all the classes will be available before schools reopen,'' the minister added.

Last week, K K Ibrahimkutty, the president of the Kerala Books and Publications Society (KBPS) staff and employees union, had claimed that the production of textbooks for classes 6 to 8 could take around 45 more days to be ready for distribution.

Regarding the issue of a lack of seats for class 11 students in government schools in the Malabar area of the state, as the new academic session begins from June 1, Samsudheen said that currently, the problem can be addressed by providing additional batches.

The government will work on a long-term solution for the problem, he added.

He said the issue has been predominantly noted in the Malappuram and Palakkad districts of the state, as well as some other districts in the Malabar region.

The minister said that there are already 350 additional batches in place, which are being maintained every year.

''This time, we decided to marginally increase the additional batches and carry out the initial allotment through that. Despite that, if there is an inadequacy of seats, then the only option is to give additional batches, especially in view of the shortage of time with the government,'' he said.

He said that a long-term solution to the problem will be devised after discussions with the chief minister and other stakeholders.

On the issue of the PM SHRI (Schools for Rising India) scheme, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding which has been signed by the previous LDF government, Samsudheen said the administration will need to examine what can be done in view of the UDF being opposed to the education system.

''The problem we are facing is that the previous government signed the MoU with the central government and received funds from the Centre. Later, the Left government also sent a letter to the Union government stating that the scheme implementation shall be kept in abeyance,'' he said.

''So, we need to decide after discussions with the CM and within the UDF on what the government's stand is. We also need to examine whether we can back out from the MoU as funds had been received by the state from the Centre,'' the minister said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)