Class 5, 8 boards: Heeded parents’ request, says CM

Even after cancelling the public exams for Classes 5 and 8, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami justified the public exams for the two classes and said that the government cancelled public exams out of public pressure. 

“The society has become highly competitive and to test the skills of students public exams are compulsory. State government introduced public exams for Classes 5 and 8 with the intention of testing the skills of students but had to cancel them out of public pressure,” said Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, in the assembly. 

Former Higher Education Minister K Ponmudi, in a debate in the assembly, said that the State government introduced public exams for Classes 5 and 8 and after DMK President M K Stalin opposed public exams for these two classes State government later retreated the announcement. 

Lot of confusion prevailed in the issue, said Ponmudi. Chief Minister intervened and replied that the State government cancelled the exams not due to the pressure from the opposition parties but from the people. 

Chief Minister also said that now as students are not failed till Class 8, they face pressure when they attend public exam in Class 10. 

Ponmudi then said that the concept of not failing the students till Class 8 was to prevent dropouts and added that the skills of the students cannot be tested through exams.

Ponmudi further said that exams are already conducted for students to assess their skills and the only demand was not to conduct public exams for students at a tender age. 

The announcement of public exams for Classes 5 and 8 created a huge uproar in the State but educationists and public opposed the exams claiming that the public exams would create a huge psychological pressure for students.