In 2017, the then Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar talked about introducing a One Nation One Education Board with an aim to streamline the country’s education system. The minister said the board will purely deal with board examinations across the country and will be created by combining the Central Board of School Education (CBSE), the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination, and other national boards. However, in 2020 Narendra Modi-led government passed the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) with the aim to introduce PARAKH.

As proposed by NEP 2020, PARAKH is a National Assessment Centre with an aim to set standards, norms, regulations, assessment, and evaluation guidelines for students across the country. Simply put, rather than introducing a single board system in India, the policymakers at the helm have unveiled a single rule book or guidelines that every state boards have to follow.

What Is PARAKH?

To quote what the National Education Policy mentioned about PARAKH, “PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), is a  standard-setting body with the basic objectives of setting norms, standards, and guidelines for student assessment and evaluation for all recognized school boards of India, guiding the State Achievement Survey and undertaking the National Achievement Survey, monitoring achievement of learning outcomes in the country.” It is also outlined that PARAKH will encourage and help school boards to shift and improve their assessment patterns to meet the skill requirements of the 21st century.

Also Read: Three Years of NEP 2020: From ‘Indovation Centres’ to FYUP, Implementation of Policy in HEIs

Reforms In Education System In India After PARAKH

PARAKH aims to simplify and transform the Indian Education system as claimed by NEP 2020. The progress card of the students will be re-designed for all NCERT and SCERT with a holistic, 360-degree, and multidimensional report. The report card will also include self-assessment, peer assessment, and progress of the child in project-based and inquiry-based learning, quizzes, role plays, group work, portfolios, etc., along with teacher assessment.

Meanwhile, the board exams for 10th and 12th across all the states will continue but with a reformation to eliminate coaching class culture. It is proposed in the NEP 2020 that board exams will be made easier, to test core capacities and competencies, and best-of-two attempts in board exams will be used in progress reports. The government has tasked NCERT, SCERT, and PARAKH to formulate guidelines accordingly.

Further, PARAKH will not only focus on the results of classes 10th and 12th but overall learning in school. Examinations will also be conducted in classes 3, 5, and 8 to test basic learning outcomes, core concepts, and knowledge from the national and local curricula, basic literacy, numeracy, and other foundational skills will be examined by the relevant authority before promoting the student. A problem that students face due to different assessment norms across the state boards is a lack of standardisation in topics and learnings.

“I was really frustrated when I first heard that CUET would have the NCERT syllabus because the ISC class 12 syllabus for my domain subjects was completely different. But a teacher of mine once said that studying both of these syllabi would be beneficial in the long run, as I would have knowledge of two of the most important boards in the country. Adopting a centralised approach can give a more holistic learning experience for competitive exams,” said a CUET topper, who wished not to be named.

Dr Pushpendra Singh, Associate Professor-EEE, JKL University said NEP 2020 has the potential to establish a uniform curriculum and syllabus nationwide. “It ensures that students from different regional boards are exposed to the same subjects and topics. Consequently, students would no longer need to familiarise themselves with diverse syllabi while preparing for national-level examinations,” he said.

“The adoption of standardised evaluation methods, including question paper setting and grading processes, would promote consistency and fairness in the examination process. This will benefit students in their preparation and performance in national level exams,” Singh added.

He further mentioned that the admission process for universities and institutions conducting national-level entrance exams would be streamlined with applicants sharing a common educational background. Another significant change that will aid the reforms to be introduced by PARAKH is the pedagogical and curricular restructuring of 5+3+3+4 covering ages 3-18. As mentioned in the NEP 2020, “In the new 5+3+3+4 structure, a strong base of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) from age 3 is also included, which is aimed at promoting better overall learning, development, and well-being.”

Segments Where PARAKH Guidelines Can Improve Education System

Academic schedules of state boards: For instance, in Maharashtra, the academic calendar starts in June while in CBSE the same resumes in April. PARAKH guidelines have the potential to align the academic calendar across boards.

Marking schemes across the board

It is assumed that the ICSE English syllabus focuses more on grammar than the CBSE English pattern which is emphasised communicative aspects. Thus students taking national-level exams like that of CUET may have a level playing field if the patterns and syllabus are aligned at the national level.

Sujatha Kshirsagar, President, Career Launcher opines, “Students would be able to transfer between schools or states without the fear of facing significant academic challenges due to differing curricula. This would promote educational mobility and reduce the stress and disruption students and their families face when relocating.” It would also streamline entrance exams, have a better resource allocation, and foster a sense of national identity and unity by promoting a shared educational experience for all students across the country she added.