The first national-level workshop which focussed on school assessments, exam practices and equivalence of boards across India was organised by the Ministry of Education, Government of India and PARAKH. This was organised on Monday, May 22 with states and union territories (UT) in New Delhi. 

What is PARAKH? It stands for Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development. In order to develop an approach that is aimed at a fair assessment system, PARAKH is a common platform for the interaction of all stakeholders concerned, as stated in a report by ANI.

Set up under the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), it will focus on getting all school boards, in states as well as UTs, on a common platform. 

Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy chaired the workshop and several officials from the Union Education Ministry, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), NCERT and others attended the workshop. There are over 60 school exam boards in India. 

Sanjay Kumar added that the aim is to make sure the transition from one board to another is seamless for students. 

The discussions were around rote culture, holistic assessment, standardised question papers, ensuring fairness and so on.