The government is set to re-introduce the traditional primary scholarship examination this year despite criticism by educationists, under a new mechanism to overhaul the country's education system.
The scholarship exams for grade five students will begin on December 30.
Earlier, the Primary and Mass Education Ministry introduced the Primary Education Certificate (PEC) exams in 2009. The PEC exams were not held in the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Later, the government announced that there would not be any PEC and Junior School Certificate (JSC) exams under the new curriculum.
“Around 10% to 20 % of students who will perform well both in class and the annual exams will be eligible for the scholarship exam,” Shah Rezwan Hayat, director general at the Directorate of Primary Education, told Dhaka Tribune.
He expressed the hope the scholarship exam would assess the students' merits and skills and motivate them.
The scholarships will be given as per union quota -- 50% boys and 50% girls -- under two categories. Tk300 will be given to students who get the talent pool scholarship and Tk250 for ordinary per month.
The decision was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting held on November 28.
Under the new curriculum, the government encourages formative assessment instead of summative assessment to reduce mental pressure on students.
A teacher will evaluate a student following class performance, class tests, class work, attendance, and group work, among other issues, under formative assessment so that they can learn in a joyful environment.
On the other hand, summative assessment of a student based on written exams puts pressure on students.
“Considering both the assessment methods, the government has scrapped the PEC exam,” National Academy of Primary Education (NAPE) Director General Shah Alam told Dhaka Tribune.
No public exams before class 10
According to the National Curriculum Framework, the government plans to make sweeping changes in the national school curriculum by 2025, including scrapping all exams up to class 3 and no public exams before class 10.
Instead of exams, students will be graded on the basis of continuous assessment until class 3, with annual exams starting from class 4.
Students of classes 1, 2, 6 and 7 will get new books based on the new curriculum in January 2023, while students of classes 3, 4, 8 and 9 will get their new books in 2024.
Students of other classes will get new books in 2025.
Under the new framework, students will not be divided by subjects upon entering the secondary level. Instead, all students will study the same 10 subjects from classes 6 to10, before being able to choose from science, humanities, business studies, and other streams of education from class 11.
Cancelling PEC exam discriminatory
Twenty-nine eminent citizens of the country have demanded the withdrawal of the decision to discontinue the PEC exam.
In a joint statement issued on December 19, they termed the decision discriminatory since only 20% of them would be able to participate in the scholarship exam.
They also warned that the revival of the scholarship exam would be a boost for coaching and guide book businesses.
The signatories include Prof Serajul Islam Choudhury, Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, Ramendu Mazumder, Sultana Kamal, Nasir Uddin Yusuf, Prof Syed Manzoorul Islam, Prof MM Akash, Rasheda K Chowdhury, Sanjeeb Drong, and Korvi Rakshand.