The English-II quandary

"To be or Not to be is the question" is what Bhutan Council for School Examination and Assessment (BCSEA) pronounced as Big-C(a popular mega-store in Bangkok) has been going through ever since the English II paper got leaked. By now, dozens of bloggers have posted on this topic and also covered largely in all forms of media.

However, I am not here to blame on what has happened - which is pretty much easy to do. What ever happened has happened and I find no use crying over spilled milk. Carelessness and complacency of some individual(s) has resulted into this but what is the wayforward. It is time for some strategic decisions to be made and it matters most at this juncture. Examination papers have leaked in the past too, and it is sure to happen in the future if the concerned authorities do not wake up. What is amusing is in the fact that, the swaying decision of the council has left the parents and students utterly bemused.

The earlier decision of the board, in its "wisdom" was to award the same marks obtained in English I  -which to me was utterly rubbish. No matter whether the correlation between the two papers was close to unity or not, they are still two different papers. I can understand the pressing need of an immediate decision for the board to make but did they evaluate the cascading implications.

Now, the decision has been made to evaluate the English II paper which is still not fair enough. Did the council consult the stakeholders? They might or might not have done it. The general opinion of the public, if we go by the poll on this issue conducted by Kuensel, was that the English II exam should be re-conducted. There is no doubt that it will have some financial implication in re-conducting the examination for this paper but atleast it would bring in fairness.

The kuensel poll as on 14th January 2015

I would not be surprised if the board again decides to re-conduct the examination. To be on a safer side, it would be wise on the part of those poor students who did not benefit from this blunder to be prepared for a re-sitting. 

P.S: This is just my personal opinion and is not intended to tarnish the name and fame of any individual or body related to this issue.