Post no ranking system, schools keep celebrations a low-key affair

Following the publication of Class 12 results, one of the schools had even placed advertisements in the media, celebrating the marks of the students. “We were not comparing one student with the other, but we did have the photos of the top performers from across the school. After the advertisement appeared, we were told by the School Education department that it was against the policy and that we should not repeat the same for Class 10 results,” said a Principal of one of the schools. 

The School Education Department recently did away with the ranking system, a day before Class 12 results were announced on May 12 and cautioned schools against publicising toppers. A Correspondent from another school added that the School Education Department is keeping a sharp eye on newspaper articles and is identifying schools that are disclosing the top marks scored by the students. “We only hope that that the government felicitates the top scorers, as they worked hard to achieve the score. By that logic, there should be no gold, silver and bronze medals in Olympics,” says the Correspondent of a school in Anna Nagar, adding, “We have strictly been advised not to publish the top scores or talk to the media.” 

Some educationists say that the department’s intention might be good, but the timing is wrong. Education consultant KR Maalathi says, “Getting a state rank is one of the biggest motivations for many. There are students who have kept that as a goal and worked hard. They would have been better prepared if the announcement was made before the academic year.” 

Though the idea of cancelling the ranking system was to reduce the stress on students, a sense of disappointment still prevails among students. R Lakshmi scored 492 and she is school third. “I was expecting 496 marks. I want to get a re-evaluation done. Though there are no ranks, I was really hoping to have scored the highest in the school.” 

The School Education Department is leaving no stone unturned, to ensure that students are not compared based on the marks they score. “The idea is to ensure that no student undergoes stress and marks shouldn’t be publicised,” said an official of the education department.