Mizoram Government Considering Reintroducing Middle School-Leaving Certificate Board Exam

The government of Mizoram is considering reintroducing the Middle School-Leaving Certificate (MSLC) board examination after a gap of nearly 10 years. The MSLC will be reintroduced in Class 8 from the academic year 2020-21, with a view to promoting quality education.

According to the School Education Department secretary, the current Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) mandated by the Right to Education Act does little to benefit Mizo students. According to teachers and parents, many students have become negligent of their studies after the CCE was introduced.

Also Read: Reopening of Schools Postponed Yet Again in Mizoram

The reintroduction of MSLC would help to revamp the system of CCE by tuning it to suit the local ethos and the needs of Mizo students. The secretary added that they are not rejecting the CCE system altogether.

According to the secretary, Mizo students are unconcerned about their studies unless term or year-end examinations are held.

Earlier, the MSLC examination used to be given by the Mizoram Board of School Education (MBSE). The last such examination was held in 2009.

Under the new system, the MSLC examination will be given at the district level under the supervision of the State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT), where students will have to answer common questions. The papers will be evaluated and the results declared by the concerned districts on their own.

According to the statistical records of 2018-19, there are 1,553 middle schools in Mizoram, consisting of 90,567 students, who are taught by 9,096 teachers. For every teacher, there are 10 middle school students.

The government of Mizoram is making efforts to improve the quality of education in the state. The question paper for the last board examination of classes 10 and 12 was set with a view to discouraging the tradition of rote learning.

The school education department has also resumed mass school inspection, held an enrollment drive, and revamped school textbooks to suit Mizo culture as permitted by NCERT. It has also distributed textbooks for free and recruited 800 muster roll teachers to bolster education in the state.