The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) goes to polls today for its new term. The three-year term of the current Board ends on January 31. The direct polls will be held for 26 members of the Board while the remaining 26 members will be nominated by the government. Those who will contest the election will be individual representatives from among state-level associations of teachers,principals,parents,administrative staff and school management. The elections today will be held for six seats of principals association,six seats of secondary school teachers,three seats of parents association,four seats of school management association,one seat of non-teaching staff association,three seats of higher secondary teachers association,one seat of B Ed college principals and two seats of government secondary schools teachers association. Later,elections will be held for administrative,examination,academic and finance committees of the Board at respective district headquarters. The eight-member executive committee of the Board meets each month to discuss all administrative matters while the six-member examination committee meets once a year to chalk out examination papers,schedule and copying cases. The academic committee meets once a year and decides on syllabi,new chapters and introduction of new textbooks while the finance committee meets four times a year to monitor income and expenditure of the board. The GSHSEB,constituted in 1972,oversees the secondary and higher secondary education in the state. Examination reforms Following the GSHSEB elections,the eagerly awaited decision on the recommendations of the Examination Reforms Committee submitted last month is expected. The decision on the issues outlined in the report will be important in formulating the examination procedures from the next academic session onwards. As pointed out in the report,the modifications to the examination format seem justified. However,these modifications will reflect both the need to test real understanding and not rote learning. If a decision is reached on the report in a few weeks of the direct elections,as is expected,the grace marks system may be dropped altogether from this year. According to the report,The grace marks system to pass students on a compassionate ground serves a negative purpose.
