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G.C.E. A/L reforms towards meeting national
needs This article is based on a speech made by Prof. R. P. Gunawardane at the National Seminar on "Reforms in Education at G.C.E. Advanced Level" organized by the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science, held at the SLAAS Auditorium in Colombo recently. Wide-ranging educational reforms at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels have been proposed by the National Education Commission. Implementation of these reforms has now been initiated by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Among these proposals, the changes contemplated at the G.C.E. Advanced Level have attracted the attention of a wider section of the general public in this country. The main purpose of this article is to present an analysis of the proposed reforms at the G.C.E. A/L Science stream, with the expected benefits and disadvantages. Some suggestions for necessary changes along with alternative proposals for implementation in the future are also presented. There is no dispute about the need to review the education system including the evaluation schemes regularly at national level. Therefore, reforms may be necessary at regular intervals depending on the needs of the time. This, no doubt applies to the system prevailing at the G.C.E. Advanced Level as well. However, the reforms proposed at the G.C.E. (A/L) are the ones which have been subjected to discussion at all levels because of various reasons. G.C.E. (A/L) examination basically serves as the university admission test. University admission in this country is extremely competitive today and only about 5-6% of those who sit the A/L examination finally gain admission to our universities. In addition, G.C.E. (A/L) examination is the final examination at the secondary school level and therefore, it serves as the opportunity to obtain the highest educational/academic qualification prior to leaving school. Thus, the whole future of a child depends largely on his or her performance at the G.C.E. (A/L) Examination. This examination determines not only the selection of a student for university entry but also serves as a barrier for entry into all other tertiary level educational institutions. Unlike the situation which was prevalent 2-3 decades ago, G.C.E. (A/L) qualification is considered as the minimum educational level required even for most unskilled minor grade employment in the state as well as in the private sector today. Thus, it is apparent that any changes or reforms which would be made at the G.C.E. (A/L) will have far reaching consequences and thus, it has become an extremely sensitive issue today. It is in this perspective that we should look at the relevance of the proposed reforms at the G.C.E. Advanced Level. Proposed Reforms (1) Students will offer only 3 subjects instead of 4 subjects as done earlier. Along with this change, Biology as a subject has been introduced replacing Botany and Zoology. Thus, in the Bio-Science stream students will follow Biology, Chemistry and Physics as subjects. Similarly, Combined Mathematics (instead of Pure Mathematics and Applied Mathematics) also has been introduced in the Physical Science stream. Those who seek admission to the Engineering Faculties are expected to offer Combined Mathematics with Chemistry and Physics as subjects. (2) A Common General Paper (Aptitude Test) will be introduced with effect from the examination in the year 2000. This is a common paper for all G.C.E. (A/L) students irrespective of the stream. This is only a qualifying test and the students need to pass this test in order to qualify for university entry. (3) Practical and project work have been made compulsory. There will be an assessment at the school level. It is necessary for the students to complete at least 80% of the practical/project assignment satisfactorily, in order to sit for the examination. Benefits of the reforms The most important feature in the reduction of a number of subjects is the introduction of Biology for the Bio-science stream and Combined Mathematics for the Physical Science stream. Particularly, the introduction of Biology is a welcome feature since it is the trend all over the world. There were many overlapping areas in the subjects of Botany and Zoology. With the introduction of Biology, students will be able to learn the subject (study of living systems) in a more organized and coherent manner. The introduction of an aptitude test (Common General Paper) has been debated extensively. Most educationists agree that a properly formulated aptitude test will be useful in the selection process. However, some argue that the aptitude is tested to a certain extent even now in the form of MCQ questions in various subjects such as Physics, Chemistry etc. It has been pointed out that, in general, subject marks tally with the marks of an aptitude test. In such a situation, the objective of conducting a separate aptitude test is not clear and it may not be justifiable. It must be noted here that in the original proposals of the National Education Commission (NEC) it has been recommended that University admissions should be based on the marks of the aptitude test with the aggregate of subject marks considered only as a qualifying requirement. It has been pointed out that this recommendation has a far-reaching consequences and will be unfair by a large number of candidates from rural and underprivileged areas. Accordingly, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has changed the position to use the marks of the aptitude test as a qualifying requirement and the university admission will continue to be based on the aggregate of marks as done before. Among the other recommendations in the NEC report which have not been implemented are as follows: (i) Only candidates who qualify in the first or second attempts should be considered for admission to Universities. (ii) The cut-off aggregate mark should be 50% of the total marks (i.e. 200 for 4 subjects and 150 for 3 subject combinations). It is not clear as to why these recommendations have not been implemented along with the other reforms. Introduction of practical/project work as a compulsory requirement for the A/L courses in Biology, Chemistry and Physics is a very important and a positive feature in the proposed reforms. Abolition of practical examinations in science subjects at G.C.E. (A/L) in the early seventies had a drastic effect on the quality of science education not only at the secondary level but also at the tertiary level. After this change practicals were almost completely ignored in many schools. Hardly any attention was given to practical courses even if facilities were available. It should be mentioned that equivalent examinations in science all over the world have practical assessments. Deterioration of standards of science students with G.C.E. A/L qualifications was particularly evident in the recent past. Lack of practical experience of students entering the tertiary educational institutions and the job market had an alarming effect on the human resources development in the field of Science & Technology. This needs to be corrected even at this late stage, in order to fulfil the scientific manpower requirements of the country in the 21st century. Thus, it is necessary to stress the importance of practicals and project work at the school level. However, the assessment should be done in an organized manner maintaining uniformity, possibly at the regional level rather than at school level. Fair assessment at school level with the same teachers cannot be assured. Regional level assessment with an independent group of experts from the University would ensure fair assessment and uniformity at the national level. Problems For each stream only one subject combination is possible, thus making it a very rigid scheme. For instance if a student wants to attempt gaining admission to engineering he has no other choice except to offer Combined Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. Why is it not possible for those who offer Physics, Mathematics and Economics or Management to follow an Engineering Course in a University? Why is not possible for a person offering Biology, Chemistry and Sociology going into Medicine? With all the Universities moving into Course Unit system, the students may be asked to follow the required modules (e.g. Physics or Chemistry) in another faculty to cover up their deficiencies and bring them up to the required level in their early undergraduate years. This flexibility and diversity should be initiated at the G.C.E. (A/L) and continue in the undergraduate programmes. Much greater flexibility with extensive diversification is in fact possible for those seeking admission to Science, Agriculture, Management, Commerce and Arts Faculties. Another disadvantage in this system is that still the university admission is based only on the aggregate of marks and other criteria introduced are qualifying. With the new scheme, admission depends on the 3-subject aggregate rather than 4-subject aggregate used earlier. Then the selection process will be still more stringent with the crowding of aggregates in the list. There will be many candidates having the same aggregate resulting in serious difficulties for admission to popular faculties. Like what is practiced in developed countries it is much better to consider a number of criteria in the selection process. A proper and reasonable assessment of a candidate can be made by considering the aggregate of subject marks, marks of an aptitude test, practical/project work assessments, English test and a record of extra-curricular activities. Such records as a package not only helps to make correct selection for university/ faculty admission but also will be extremely useful for selection to various employments. If these records are available the employers need not conduct a separate test for recruitment. The other deficiencies in the suggested scheme include (i) lack of Mathematics courses for the Bio-science stream, (ii) lack of Biology courses for Physical Science stream and (iii) lack of English Language courses. There is a definite need for an English Language course, particularly for those in the science streams. In addition, there are many problems associated with the contents of the syllabi, particularly of new subjects such as Biology and Combined Mathematics. In the introduction of new subjects it is necessary that the teaching material, teacher guides, practical guides, monographs and text books should be prepared well in advance. The teachers also should be trained adequately prior to deploying them to teach newly introduced subjects. Unfortunately, it has not happened in the present reforms and, apparently the changes have been introduced in a great hurry without proper planning. As a reesult most teachers are not familiar with the changes and the new syllabi, which will make implementation process extremely difficult particularly during the initial period. Alternative proposals (1) Instead of the present Physical Science and Biological Science Streams, there should be only one Science stream at the G.C.E. (A/L). All students in this stream should offer Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics as subjects. (2) The aggregate of marks at the G.C.E. (A/L) examination should not be considered as the sole criterion for University admission. (3) Appropriate assessment of the practicals of each subject (Biology, Physics and Chemistry) should be conducted as a qualifying requirement for university entry. Of these the first recommendation is extremely important and needs further explanation. All science students irrespective of whether they seek entry to Engineering, Medicine or any other Science based faculty need a sound knowledge of Mathematics. Similarly, a knowledge of Biology is of immense importance to all science students. Above all, according to this scheme, the students will be in a better position to select a suitable undergraduate course of study after sitting the G.C.E. (A/L) examination. This is in contrast to the preesent scheme where the students have to decide whether they should go into the Bio-stream or Physical Science stream immediately after the O/L examination. At this stage, most students, without considering their capabilities and the strengths are forced to follow certain courses due to parental or other influences. There are many instances where such students have become misfits. Thus, the selection of a course of study (whether to follow medicine, engineering, computer science etc.) at a later stage after ascertaining the A/L performance and capabilities would certainly be of great benefit to the students concerned. Similarly, for those who do not proceed to tertiary level education, more employment opportunities would be available because of their knowledge of Biology and Mathematics. Even with four subjects, still the work load can be reduced by pruning down the course content of each subject by about 25%. The other alternative would be to retain the two streams (Biological Science and Physical Science) with three major subjects and combine with two additional minor subjects. The course content of a minor can be roughly that of a major subject. English should be a minor for both streams. In this scheme, Bio-Science students are expected to offer Mathematics and Physical science students should offer Biology as minor subjects. Either scheme will certainly broaden the scope of higher education as well as employment opportunities of the candidates. Concluding remarks A series of recommendations have now been made by the National Education Commission and the Presidential Task Forces with regard to the reforms at G.C.E. (A/L). These have now been accepted by the Government for implementation. There are many positive features in these reforms. Although we may not agree with all the proposed reforms, it would be in the best interest of the country if all concerned cooperate with the authorities in the implementation of the new scheme. Certainly, changes and adjustments are needed to improve the proposed reforms. Thus, corrective measures should be taken as we proceed with the implementation process. It is also of paramount importance to examine the alternative proposals presented here for future implementation. This is necessary to satisfy our requirements and to fulfil national aspirations. It must also be stressed that any reforms introduced at the G.C.E. (A/L) should conform to overall national education reforms to achieve our national goals in the new millennium. |
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