PARAKH - EDUCATION

News: Education Ministry holds meet on PARAKH aimed at unifying 60 school Boards

 

What is in the news?

       The Education Ministry organized a workshop in New Delhi with the aim of unifying a network of 60 school examination Boards of various States and Union Territories under one umbrella.

 

Key takeaways from the news:

       The workshop will study school assessments, examination practices and equivalence of Boards across the country.

       The main component of this plan is PARAKH, the National Assessment Centre, which has been set up as an organization under the National Council of Educational Research and Training.

 

Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development (PARAKH):

About:

       PARAKH was launched in 2022.

       It is a part of proposals of the National Education Policy.

 

Ministry:

       Ministry of Education.

 

Aim:

       The aim was to establish a unified framework that enables seamless transitions for students moving between different Boards or regions.

 

Functions:

       PARAKH, will be tasked with holding periodic learning outcome tests like the National Achievement Survey (NAS) and State Achievement Surveys.

       The mandate of PARAKH is to work on bringing the school Boards across States and Union Territories on a common platform.

       The benchmark assessment framework will seek to put an end to the emphasis on rote learning, as envisaged by the National Education Policy.

       Encouraging and helping school boards to shift their assessment patterns towards meeting the skill requirements of the 21st century”.

       It will develop and implement “technical standards for the design, conduct, analysis and reporting” of tests at all levels of school education.