Indian state boards for Classes 10 and 12 recorded high absenteeism this year

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• Jul 19, 2022 | Poonam Nath

Officials blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the setbacks to teaching and learning for the high absenteeism

Digital Desk: This year, the education boards of at least ten Indian states saw a significant increase in the number of absentees for the Class 10 and Class 12 board exams, which officials attribute to setbacks in teaching and learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report examined examination attendance data from 17 state boards. Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal reported a large number of students who registered but did not appear for the board exams. According to the report, absenteeism was more pronounced during the Class 10 board exams.

For example, out of the 5.71 lakh students who registered for the Class 10 board exams this year, Disha recorded 43,489 absences. 7.6%, a record-high absentee rate, prompted a state government investigation into the "missing students."

Odisha Education Minister Samir Ranjan Das said, "The students missed class lectures and lost confidence to appear for the final exams." "Before the pandemic, the students were in Class 8, and they missed classes for almost two years."

Das claimed that absenteeism is a pan-India problem. In Tamil Nadu, the number of students who registered but did not take the Class 10 board exams more than doubled from 21,761 in 2019 to 42,521 in 2022, representing an increase in absenteeism from 2.2 percent to 4.4 percent.

Similarly, 14,000 students (3.4%) missed Class 10 board exams in Assam this year, compared to 6,488 (1.8%) in 2019. Reportedly, Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu stated, "The pandemic disrupted continuity in the education system." "Many students did not study, and many students lost faith."

In Telangana, class 10 exam absenteeism increased from 1,585 (0.3%) in 2019 to 4,909 (1%). Absenteeism for Class 12 exams has increased in Maharashtra and Karnataka. In Maharashtra, nearly 10,000 (0.7%) students failed the Class 12 exams in 2022, compared to 1,567 (0.1%) in 2019. The number of students who failed their Class 12 exams in Karnataka increased from 17,553 (2.5%) in 2019 to 26,000 (3.7%) in 2022.

Sharad Gosavi, chairman of the Maharashtra State Board, stated that students were unprepared for offline exams because they had received automatic promotions following the cancellation of exams last year.