The newly introduced Creative Question System for examinations has sent a chill of apprehension down the spines of students including HSC and SSC examinees who are failing to come to terms with the innovative approach.
A sense of foreboding among examinees is attributed to this year’s fall in pass rate in Higher Secondary Certificate examinations (HSC), said students and teachers.
In recent times, the Secondary School Certificate examinees (SSC) have demonstrated against introduction of this system for the Mathematics subject in the upcoming SSC exams.
A parliament member reportedly took floor in the parliament session and spoke against introduction of the creative approach for mathematics without adequate training for teachers.
In 2010, when the new method debuted, experts and officials described it as one that would reduce students’ dependency on cramming and guidebooks.
They also said the creative approach would promote students’ creativity and innovation.
But very shortly, it seems to have lost its appeal and now has become a topic of debate.
Thousands of students said the newly introduced creative method instilled fear into them.
Talking to a number of students, guardians, teachers and concerned officials, the Dhaka Tribune found that inadequate training for teachers and lack of awareness programs were reasons to ruin the good system.
Creative Question System incorporates structural questions prepared in such way that invites students to attempt each question with a creative approach.
The system is a substitute for the students’ reliance on guidebooks and their power of cramming.
Introduced first to Bangla and religious studies in SSC exams in 2010, a total of 21 examinations of different subjects have so far been held following this system.
In HSC, students took four subjects’ tests under this system in 2013 while 12 such tests will be held following this method in the upcoming HSC exams.
Asked why they objected to it, many students said they were filled with apprehension that they won’t do well on the tests.
“Many of our teachers do not understand what type of questions will be asked for Mathematics under this system,” said Tawhidul Islam, an SSC examinee from city’s AK High School.
“How will we learn if our teachers do not know much about it?” he posed a question.
Schoolteachers were given only four-five days training for the new system which is inadequate and teacher’s training for Mathematics subject was yet to be completed, said a source.
Talking to guardians, it was learnt that their kids were apprehensive of the new system.
“My daughter is afraid of it. I heard that this was a good system but students should have been briefed properly before its introduction,” said Abdus Salam, a guardian whose child studied in Tejgoan Government Girls’ High School.
Abu Sayeed Bhuiyan, headmaster of Government Laboratory High School, told the Dhaka Tribune that teachers and students in his school welcomed the creative approach.
He, however, said some of his colleagues from rural areas had complained of difficulties facing them while coming to terms with the innovate method.
“Most teachers in Dhaka are qualified and they can accept any new teaching approach easily, but those from rural areas are struggling to get used to it,” he said.
The head teacher called for large-scale training to make the system effective.
Examinations Specialist Robiul Kabir Chowdhury of the Education Ministry’s Bangladesh Examination Development unit ruled out that students were apprehensive of the new system.
He, on the other hand, laid blame on the teachers, saying: “Students have welcomed the system whereas teachers are failing to come to terms with it.”
Robiul pointed out that in school examinations teachers prepared questions in a traditional way which created problems.
“I can assure students that they won’t do bad on math tests if the system is introduced,” he said, adding that it would rather facilitate increasing pass rate.
The Education Ministry official, however, emphasised a vigorous training for teachers to accommodate to the new system for bringing success.
Taslima Begum, chairman of Dhaka Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, told the Dhaka Tribune, training was given to about 4,00,000 teachers and they also had plans to train more teachers in the future.
