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Tuesday, 17 November 2020

Teachers act as kids’ ‘proxy’ in online tests

Karam Prakash
Tribune News Service
Patiala, November 16

Government school teachers are reportedly appearing in online exams for the Punjab Assessment Survey (PAS) on behalf of students to ensure "maximum attendance".

Teachers are indulging in the practice to jack up students' attendance allegedly owing to pressure from senior officials of the Education Department.

The Tribune discovered that the teachers initially tried to reach out to students telephonically, then through buddy groups to remind them of taking the test, before finally acting as proxies for students.

A visit to a government senior secondary school in Patiala revealed how class teachers were appearing in a test on behalf of students. "It is difficult to reach out to every student and remind them of the test. Senior officials want each school to ensure 100 per cent attendance in these tests. So I have to appear in the tests on behalf of truant students to meet the attendance criterion," said the teacher. A class VII student of a school in the Nabha block of the district was marked present and his test filed by someone else despite him not appearing in the test.

Meanwhile, teacher unions claimed the PAS was being rigged to show higher attendance and quality education. They also questioned the assessment of learning outcome when tests were being taken by students from home with the help of family and teachers. Vikram Dev, senior vice-president, Democratic Teachers Front, said, "An attempt is being made to promote online education. Therefore, this survey is being conducted. To prove that online education is successful, teachers are being pressured to maintain 100 per cent attendance of students."



from The Tribune https://ift.tt/3f8dcyQ

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