HSC results
This year the pass percentage of the HSC examination is remarkably less than what it was one year ago. The news analysts have put the blame on the new method of English teaching --namely, the introduction of grammar in the second paper. The distribution of marks of the said paper is as follows --forty marks for exercises related to grammar and sixty marks allotted to composition---short essays, letters and so on.
It is believed that there is a shortage of skilled teachers across the country --especially in the mufassil areas and in the villages who can teach English properly. Therefore the rural urban gap is widening as far as the said examination is concerned.
One point: ''the communicative method'' which has been in use at the secondary and higher secondary levels over the last seven years is in dire need of scrutiny. The textbooks of the first paper of these two levels are written according to the said methodology. The students are required to write only one paragraph in that paper containing hundred marks! The remaining questions are mostly gap filling exercises.
In fine our students are taking the English second paper with a frail foundation of the basics of the mechanism of the language and this goes on to explain the poor performance of the college-goers.
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