KOZHIKODE: The system of internal marks has given rise to violation of rights and erosion of quality in the education sector. Mr Naseer Chaliyam, former member, Kerala State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, said, "as a member of the commission in the last three years, I could understand the impact of the internal mark system on the students and their rights.
"However hard they study, the teachers treat it as a tool to tame the students. The internal marks have become an easy weapon for them to suppress student protests. The marks can also be used technically to sideline the students who work hard," he said. Internal marks are given in the distance-education system also, which are not based on the quality of the students' thesis or in proportion to their theory marks. It was envisioned in the beginning to provide a different realm of assessment other than the mere classroom teaching, by evaluating the student through assignments and practicals at different stages. However, today there are no proper mechanisms to check if the students have worked on the projects. There should be strict control on the internal mark system to protect the rights of the students, he said.
"Sometimes, the teachers are compelled to give more marks as there is no proper criterion to provide marks. Either this system should be abandoned or be minimised to avoid compromising with the quality of education, violating the rights of the students and curbing their vision. Recently, Justice Cyriac Joseph, former member of the National Human Rights Commission, had rightly pointed out that there were more violations of rights than lock-up torture," Mr Naseer added.
