‘Focus on students who haven’t scored well’

A member of Rajasthan State Education Policy Committee has written to education minister Vasudev Devnani to focus on students who fail to score well in Class 12 exam because they need guidance to chart their future.

The education minister is the chairman of the committee, a state-level think-tank for making education policy for the state.

Incidentally, she wrote on the day (Sunday) when a Class 12 student in Ganganagar killed herself because she scored 74% marks, below her friend’s score of 81%. The girl appeared for Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education’s Class 12 science agriculture exam, results of which were announced on May 23.

“When the results are declared, meritorious students get the spotlight, which is necessary, but with this, we tend to forget students who fail to score well. It is an extremely difficult time for them. It is our responsibility to pay special attention to these students and provide them guidance to prepare them for their future,” wrote Payal Parasrampuria, who is also district panchayat head of Sirohi.

“With this, we will be able to remove negativity from their minds and prepare more meritorious students in future. I have discussed this with experts in the field. The future of students can be improved with recommendations from these experts,” she wrote.

Parasrampuria said it is important for the district education officers, principals, teachers and others to provide guidance to students so that they make this a daily routine and part of school curriculum.

“You are not your marks,” is a Facebook campaign that she is running on her page.

Parasrampuria has also written to the Sirohi district collector and district education officers of elementary and secondary education divisions.

On Saturday, when Central Board of Secondary Education announced results of Class 12, the Sirohi Zila Pramukh issued an appeal to students on her Facebook page, addressing students who didn’t score well.

“We are not failures in life’s scale if we fail to score good marks in an exam. We have several people among us who have made a name for themselves today but they never found a place in merit lists. Marks in report cards don’t mean anything,” she wrote.

“My young friends, if you ever feel doubtful about yourself or feel diffident, bare your heart before your parents or friends without any hesitation because we are always with you for your help,” she continued in her post.