From now on, schools will have to conduct two quarterly tests in the first semester and an annual examination at the end of the year based on the second semester syllabus. The average of the two quarterly tests and the annual examination will be considered for deciding on the student's level of competency. The government wrote to the Director of Education last week about the matter, according to School Education Secretary Rameshchandra Kanade. The director will be communicating the decision to the education officers, he added.

The government explanation for the change is that the current pattern is a ``better'' one, but educators say that it is a pointer to the obstacles in the way of the success of the competency-based system, starting from too many students to too fewteachers.

Under the competency system, continous assessment is carried out through written and oral tests, with the latter being conducted throughout the year. After teaching a particular topic or chapter, teachers evaluate the students, and records are maintained. But in the current system, while the two quarterly tests are competency-based, the annual examination will be conducted as earlier. And if a student does not acquire a minimum level of competence, teachers are expected to pay special attention, till he/she catches up.

Says Kanade: ``We decided to have an annual test, in the old manner, as parents felt that children must have some practice of the written examination. Now, we have incorporated the old in the new system.''

But more than that, educators also say that the examination system has become necessary as there are short-falls in continous evaluation, only due to the large number of students.

``The system was introduced, based on a US concept,'' says A R Motlekar, President of theMumbai Association of Heads of Secondary Schools. But here there are practical difficulties, which have not been considered, according to Motlekar. For instance, in the US, there are only 17-18 students per class. Here, there are at least 60 students, he says. ``The teacher-student ratio in the city is 1: 60/70. One teacher cannot concentrate on so many students,'' Motlekar explains. Besides, in most schools, on an average there is only one teacher in Std III and Std IV, teaching all the subjects.

Concurs Mohan Phansekar, Principal of Shailendra Education Society's Secondary School and Junior College at Dahisar: ``In Western countries, the small student strength ensures that the system is a success. There can be group discussions, continous evaluation, but here, it is difficult.''

Moreover, even as schools were supposed to follow the competency-based system, there was no uniformity in assessment. Says Kanade: ``Some schools would have only annual exams, which meant that the student will study only forthat. There was no uniform pattern.'' The current exercise is meant to tackle that disparity.

The competency-based system was started at the third-standard level in 1997, and extended to the fourth in 1998 and now to the fifth standard. Says Motlekar, ``In a government survey conducted sometime back, it was found that only 20-30 per cent students in Std IV could read or write.'' Up to Std IV, students are allowed to go to a higher standard even if they don't pass any examination. But at the end of the day, it was found that several students did not even have minimum knowledge.

While the competency-based system was introduced for ensuring at least minimum learning, that very aspect has become its bane, says Phansekar. ``We are not testing the knowledge, the brilliance of a student. We are only testing the minimum ability,'' he feels. For advanced students, the system does not serve any purpose, he says.

But counters Kanade: ``We have introduced the system only recently, so there will be teethingproblems. But teachers and parents are appreciative of it.''

The competency-based system is more child-centred, concurs H N Pal, administrator of Sir JJ PB institutions. ``It gives an opportunity for weak students to come up, and children find learning more innovative,'' she says. Ramakant Pandey, principal of Bansidhar Agarwal High School, Wadala, however feels that teachers should be capable of handling large numbers. ``But there is an enormous clerical job involved for them,'' he says.