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Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Karnataka schools get notices for poor SSLC results, teachers cite systemic issues
Bengaluru: The department of school education and literacy has begun issuing show-cause notices to headmasters and headmistresses (HMs) of govt and aided schools across Karnataka, pulling them up for poor SSLC-1 results. The move comes as part of a wider drive to improve academic performance in state-run institutions. Schools where the pass percentage has fallen below the state average of 60% have been served notices, demanding explanations for the poor outcomes. It was seen from the results that they did not take adequate measures to improve the academic performance of the students and "this reflects negligence and dereliction of duty," the notice stated, directing the HMs to respond within seven days. The move follows a directive from chief minister Siddaramaiah, who recently emphasised the need for accountability among officials for underperformances of schools. The department has also gone a step further with aided schools. District deputy directors of public instruction (DDPIs) have been told to identify subject-wise teachers whose results fell below 60% and withhold their annual increments. If a subject continues to record poor results for three consecutive years, salary grants for those teachers will be stopped. Aided high schools that fail to achieve a minimum 50% pass rate in SSLC exams for five years in a row stand to lose govt funding altogether. "All field-level education officers must monitor compliance with these conditions and submit a follow-up report after SSLC results each year," a circular directed. While the crackdown has been welcomed in some quarters, many teachers argue that it unfairly targets them while ignoring systemic issues. "There's a huge shortage of teachers. By the time we get students in high school, they often lack even basic reading and writing skills. We're expected to build everything from scratch. Yet, we're the ones being blamed," a govt school teacher said. Education experts and teacher associations are calling for a more holistic approach. "Teachers should be freed from non-academic work. Basic infrastructure and resources must be prioritised. Above all, filling vacant teacher posts must be the first step if results are to improve," Manjunath HK, former president of the Karnataka State High School Teachers Association, said. Responding to the criticism, commissioner Trilok Chandra KV said the department is open to hearing the HMs' issues. "Let them send their explanations, and we will consider them accordingly," he said. ————- 3 weeks into academic year, students yet to get shoes and socks Times News Network Bengaluru: Nearly three weeks after the start of the new academic year, govt and aided schools across Karnataka are still awaiting funds to provide shoes and socks to their students. The academic year began on May 29, and while students received textbooks and uniforms on time, the promised footwear is yet to arrive. With no clarity on when the items will be distributed, students are either reusing old pairs — if they can still fit in — or are turning up at school in sandals, slippers or even barefooted. "We are expecting the govt order to be issued this week. The money will be transferred directly to the school development and monitoring committees (SDMCs). We had sent the proposal to the govt a long time ago," said Trilok Chandra KV, commissioner, department of school education and literacy. Last year, the govt had sanctioned around Rs 121 crore to distribute shoes and socks to over 42 lakh students in classes 1 to 10. Depending on the grade, the expenditure per child ranged between Rs 265 and Rs 325. However, the delays in releasing funds have once again highlighted the apathy towards public school children. "Due to heavy rainfall this year, many children are suffering without proper footwear. Some are forced to attend classes in torn shoes or barefooted," Ajay Kamath, state secretary, All India Democratic Students Organisation (Aidso), said. Teachers echoed similar concerns. "Students were asked to buy one pair of shoes and two pairs of socks. But with the meagre budget last year, SDMCs could only afford poor-quality footwear. Those are already worn out. Most students now come in slippers or sandals," a govt school teacher in Bengaluru, said.
Time of India
22-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Bengaluru North & South top list of A+ in SSLC exam, Dakshina Kannada in third place
Bengaluru: Bengaluru may not be the best in the state in terms of pass percentage for SSLC examination, but it indeed produced the maximum number of high scorers. The largest cohort of A+ graders in the state were from Bengaluru South and North. As many as 4,684 students secured A+ (marks in the range of 90%-100%) for class 10 exams in Bengaluru South, while 4,622 students in Bengaluru North are in this bracket. Dakshina Kannada has the third largest number of students (4,174) with A+. Over 55,000 students in the state achieved this. In terms of pass percentage, Bengaluru South is in 10th position and Bengaluru North in 11th. Udupi, which ranked first in terms of pass percentage, had 2,060 A+ students. An analysis by Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board shows that Bengaluru South also has the highest number of A graders. While 8,308 students from this region have an A grade, 6,575 students from Bengaluru North have secured A grades. "There is nothing to be surprised," said AS Seetharamu, former professor at Institute for Social and Economic Change. "SSLC is the zenith of a pyramid of schooling. It is built layer by layer from solid foundations. Bengaluru South, for several decades, has some of the best preschools. Children acquire communication skills at an early age. A large middle class and non-migrant population is in Bengaluru South. To a slightly lower degree, Bengaluru North is a replica of South. Naturally, the pursuit of excellence in schooling, both in infrastructure and student effort, integrated with parental guidance and paid private coaching, all contributing to superior grades for larger groups," he said. "Udupi and Dakshina Kannada cannot be compared with Bengaluru South and North. The former are districts with a heavy rural population. Results are as expected," he added. Manjunath HK, president of Karnataka High School Teachers Association, said: "The number of students in private schools is more than that of govt schools in Bengaluru. Some of these schools are old and established, and provide a solid foundation from primary school. There is also huge support from parents, self-motivation and better accessibility to resources. All of it leads to better results." Meanwhile, students across the state have secured good grades in subsidiary subjects like art education, health and wellness, attitude and values and work experience. "That is just an eyewash. Most govt schools do not even have teachers for physical education or art education. They are not assessed, but marks are randomly given," said a teacher. As per KSEAB, 7.3 lakh students have A grade, 59,421 students have B grade, and 1,169 have C grade. In art, 6.9 lakh have A grade, 95,976 have B grade, and 2,793 have C grade. In attitude and values and work experience, 6.9 lakh students have A grades. SECOND STORY Educators call for inclusion of internal marks in SSLC final results to improve scores tnn Bengaluru: Amid consistently low pass rates in SSLC examination, educators across the state are urging the department of school education and literacy to revise regulations and incorporate internal assessment marks into the final results. Currently, Karnataka allocates approximately 20 marks for internal assessments, but these scores are not factored into final results. Students must achieve 35% in each of the six subjects to pass — the pass mark is 28 in second and third languages, maths, science and social science, and 44 in the first language as the exam is out of 125. This contrasts with other education boards across India. Maharashtra recorded a 94.18% pass rate in 2025, falling slightly from 95.81% in 2024, where students need a combined 35% from both internal and external examinations. Similarly, CBSE includes all 20 internal assessment marks when calculating final results. Tamil Nadu's system allocates 25 internal marks for science and 10 for other subjects, with final mark sheets showing only the total out of 100. Science students must secure at least 20 marks in the external examination to pass. Karnataka's SSLC-1 pass rate stood at just 63% this year. While authorities attributed the decline to stricter anti-malpractice measures through CCTV monitoring, the 2023 results reached only 84%, still considerably lower than neighbouring states. "It is the same textbooks that both CBSE and state syllabus students study for mathematics and science. However, if a student gets 20 for internals and 15 for externals, CBSE student passes and the other fails. How unfair is that? The students are studying the same material in the same environment, but results vary," a PU college principal pointed out. A private school principal said the idea of having internal assessments is to have continuous assessment and not test a student based on only one exam. "If those marks are finally not counted, what is the point of having them at all?" the principal asked. The Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools of Karnataka included this recommendation in their memorandum to the department, following the announcement of SSLC results. Trilok Chandra BV, commissioner, however said the department has not yet discussed the issue.
