The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has established the first national assessment regulator, PARAKH, to create a uniform assessment process across the country’s education boards. To achieve this, PARAKH will collaborate with various central and state education boards to ensure they have a standardised curriculum and provide teachers with common training. This national assessment regulator will focus on three key areas: large-scale assessments, school-based assessment and examination reforms. It will be an independent centre within NCERT.
Indrani Bhaduri, professor and head of NCERT’s Educational Survey Division, spoke to Education Times, noting that due to the different assessment practices employed by school education boards, students experience disparities in their success when it comes to competing in all-India level exams or getting into top institutions. This is because a more lenient marking system from one board gives those students an advantage, regardless of the actual development of their skills and knowledge. Making sure all the boards are comparable is not only limited to their results, but it also involves standardizing the entire educational system, including the curriculum, teacher training, and physical and infrastructural facilities, as well as ensuring assessment protocols are similar.
According to Biswajit Saha, director of CBSE, the establishment of PARAKH would enhance the quality of the school education system in India. This is a requirement of the National Education Policy 2020 in order to provide fairness in the assessment of students in secondary classes. For instance, if a student gets 80% marks in a particular board and their marks are reduced during the admission process, it would be unfair to them. PARAKH will help to bring a level of parity among all school education boards in the country, which is beneficial to students.
