Context:
The Centre is planning to draw up a benchmark framework ‘PARAKH’ to assess students at the secondary and higher secondary level to bring about “uniformity” across state and central boards.
Relevance:
GS II: Government policies and Interventions
Dimensions of the Article:
- What is PARAKH?
- Significance of PARAKH
What is PARAKH?
- PARAKH stands for Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development.
- The proposed regulator will act as a constituent unit of the NCERT.
- It will also be tasked with holding periodic learning outcome tests like the National Achievement Survey (NAS) and State Achievement Surveys.
- The benchmark assessment framework will seek to put an end to the emphasis on rote learning, as envisaged by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
- PARAKH, the proposed implementing agency, is also part of the NEP proposal.
Significance of PARAKH
- PARAKH will assist in addressing the issue of some state board students being at a disadvantage when applying to colleges when compared to their peers in CBSE schools.
- In the end, PARAKH will become the national single-window source for all assessment-related information and expertise, with a mandate to support learning assessment in all formats, both nationally and where applicable, internationally.
- It will create and implement “technical standards for the design, conduct, analysis, and reporting” of tests at all levels of school education.
-Source: Indian Express
