Hyderabad: Teachers want weekly tests in government schools

Hyderabad: The decision to not conduct weekly tests in government schools has met with disapproval from teachers’ associations in the city. The education department decided this after it found that students were bunking classes on the day of tests. 

Teachers, however, said that despite the fact that funds were allocated for the purpose, periodic tests were in the interest of students and should not have been done away with completely. In light of the increasing number of student suicides related to stress, many teachers said that students might get even more tense ahead of the final exams if they have not prepared the year round for weekly tests. 

Telangana United Teachers’ Federation general secretary professor Chava Ravi said, “Tests should at least be conducted every fortnight. Teachers find the evaluation process too stressful so new measures should be implemented. It is sad that online tests are not held in government schools.” Mr Ravi said that the attitude of students towards tests needs to change.  

The DEO of Suryapet said, “We had received complaints from students and teachers about the evaluation and problems related to weekly tests. But these tests actually benefitted students and helped them in revising the portion better. Therefore, we are trying to reach an amicable solution.”

Deepthi Divakar, a teacher, said, “In lower grades, some marks are allotted to performance in weekly tests. Good performance in weekly tests helps in quick revision later, and comes in handy for students before the final exams when they have to study the entire year’s syllabus. The periodic tests can be made less stern, but not scrapped totally. Students should be made to feel more comfortable with the tests and not get averse to taking them.” 

The decision to conduct weekly tests for subjects such as maths, Hindi and English was taken in August last, and has been implemented ever since in government schools. 

“The idea behind the tests is to avoid a pile-up of studies for students. Students should be made to understand this. But the tests should not eat into teaching hours. A few changes are required, but they should not be removed altogether looking at the benefits they bring. For teachers, we can have a cross-evaluation procedure between peers once in a while so that they feel less burdened,” says Chava Ravi.