Assam govt comes down hard on zero pass percentage schools in Class X exams

After the release of Class X results in Assam this week, the state government has not taken kindly to the performance of 138 schools in the Board exams. It was reported that 30 schools returned a zero pass percentage and the other 108 schools had a pass percentage of less than 10 per cent. A show-cause notice has been issued to these schools and the Secondary Education Department Director, Mamata Hojai, has asked the heads of these institutions to explain the poor performance, according to a report by TNIE. 

Written replies have been sought by the department from these schools within seven days. The department has warned that failure to submit responses might lead to dismissal from service for these heads of institutions. In fact, the overall pass percentage has also seen a huge drop from 93.10 in 2021 to 56.49 this year. It must be noted that students were scored on their internal assessment marks last year. 

The Assam government has, in the past, taken strict action against schools with zero pass percentage. In 2020, the government shut down 17 schools where not a single student had passed the exam. The teachers from these schools were then transferred to other institutions. This move, however, did not sit well with opposition parties, who said that the decision would impact the state's education system, which they claimed had been weakened already. 

Exam season in Assam this year was hit by floods and landslides. In view of this, the Assam government has also decided to promote all Class XI students to Class XII. All institutions have been requested by the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council to comply with this order. Due to the floods, a good number of students were rendered unable to attend the exams despite registering for them.