The National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) has recently announced the establishment of India’s first national assessment regulator, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development). This new regulatory body is focused on creating standardised assessment guidelines to be used across all educational boards.
Understanding PARAKH
PARAKH is a novel initiative launched as part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. It is designed to be a standard-setting organisation that offers advice to school boards on current research findings and new assessment patterns. Concerted efforts will be made to facilitate cooperation between the boards. Functioning as an essential unit of the NCERT, PARAKH also has the responsibility of carrying out regular learning outcome examinations like the National Achievement Survey (NAS) and State Achievement Surveys. It aims to focus on three primary areas of assessment: large-scale assessments, school-based assessments, and examination reforms.
Objectives of PARAKH
Setting uniform norms and guidelines is one of the crucial targets of PARAKH. These rules will serve as a basis for student assessment and evaluation across all recognised school boards in India. The new body also strives to improve current assessment patterns, helping them align with the skill requirements of the 21st century. Efforts will be made to reduce disparities in evaluation, which exist due to different standards followed by state and central boards, leading to wide variations in scores. A benchmark assessment framework will be developed, aiming to curb the reliance on rote learning, thus aligning with the vision of NEP 2020.
The Impact of PARAKH
PARAKH is expected to address and mitigate the issue of disparity among students from different state boards during college admissions. Currently, students from some state boards are at a disadvantage when compared to their peers from CBSE schools during admissions. This new assessment regulator will work towards developing and implementing technical standards for the design, conduct, reporting, and analysis of tests at all levels of school education.
Promoting holistic and inclusive learning
An important goal of PARAKH is to encourage a holistic approach to education. This means considering field experiences, empirical research, stakeholder feedback, and learning from best practices. It promises a progressive shift towards a scientific method of education. The formulated structure should cater to the child’s abilities – their cognitive developmental stages, as well as their social and physical awareness.
Reflecting on the New Education Policy 2020
The principle of “Education is not an injunction, it is an effective and pervasive tool for all-round development of an individual and social transformation” can be seen in NEP 2020. The policy seeks to transform education into a more interactive and comprehensive process. By addressing the issues of disparity and rote learning with initiatives like PARAKH, it aims to facilitate the all-round development of students and enable social transformation through education.
