HS teaching doesn't suit MCQ: Experts

Kolkata: What emerged as a trend in 2013 is still going strong in all-India entrance examinations and the one run by WBJEE Board. Students from other boards in this state, and even those from outside, are coming up in the top 10,000 on the engineering merit list, putting pressure on students from West Bengal Higher Secondary Council.
What's more, students from Bankura, Cooch Behar or Jalpaiguri, who passed with flying colours in the higher secondary examination, are nowhere on the WBJEE or IIT merit list.Again, those who have special aptitude in mathematics, but opt for the ISI entrance instead of engineering, are mostly from major Kolkata-based HS schools, like Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission and South Point High School.
A glance at the WBJEE merit list shows the dominance of four urban centres - Kolkata, North 24-Parganas, Howrah and Burdwan. They account for 7,778 of the first 10,000 engineering slots. Most of these students are from schools affiliated to other boards, elbowing out good students from the other districts. Bankura, Coochbehar and Jalpaiguri who had done quite well in the HS examinations.
It has become a bother for experts and school teachers in state-run boards. Some of them attribute this downslide to the HS Council's bid to "ape" other boards by making cosmetic changes in the exam pattern. "We have changed the question pattern without making changes in the teaching methodology. It is still the old narrative mode that gives students a better understanding of the subject, but it has a limited horizon. The MCQ pattern demands more information. This apart, entrance examinations require competence in several techniques that enable students to solve questions fast. This is not happening in HS schools," a Hindu School mathematics teacher said.
Former dean of engineering of Jadavpur University Manoj Mitra sees this as an alarming trend. "There was a time when HS students had an edge over others in the state and also in all-India competitive exams in science and engineering. But now, students from other states ,who are putting in more effort to prepare for the IIT entrance are at a distinct advantage while taking the WBJEE exams," Mitra pointed out.
He argues that it reflects the deteriorating standards of teaching in schools under the HS Council. "Formal education has taken a beating these days. Students also lack the competitive mindset. They are keen on rote learning, which they get from private tuitions. Some coaching centres have excelled, no doubt, but they can't be substitutes to formal schooling," Mitra said.
JU construction engineering professor Partha Pratim Biswas maintains that the state has taken the easy route to get on a par with other boards. "What annoys me is that all the boards, including WBHS and ICSE, are trying to follow the pattern of CBSE Board to enable students to crack engineering entrances. As a result, the aptitude for basic science is often compromised. A change in question pattern, apart from the other indices, many bring out different results. The ISI entrance results could be one instance," Biswas said.
"Though we look at the common portions of HS, CBSE and ISC syllabi while setting our paper, we look for understanding of the concept and analytical skills rather than computational ability that the other national-level admission tests look for. Again, we do not look for speed in the admission test. In other words, you have enough time to attempt each question and revise them; finishing the paper is never an issue. For other entrance examinations such as IIT-JEE (advanced), speed is an important critenion," ISI dean of studies Pradipto Bandyopadhyay said.
Experts in this field also called for a comprehensive study of all the elements of teaching - teaching methodology, question pattern at the school level, questions set in WBJEE - if the government wants to improve the state board's performance in competitive examinations.
"The WBJEE Board has enough money. It can easily begin this procedure with the help of the academia and send its feedback to the HS Council for their consideration. Secondly, the government should set a cut off for engineering entrance to ensure quality," MItra added.