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Preamble
operational jurisdictions of existing institutions of assessment, accreditation,
evaluation, and examination such as NAAC of the UGC, NBA of the AICTE, NBE of the
MCI, Evaluation Units of Universities, Examination Directorates, etc.1, are limited to only specific
domains, purposes, and levels of education • but to meet the multiple demands
of evaluation (that encompass the entire system of education) being received from
various organisations of the country, no comprehensive mechanism is available •
in order to fill up this gap, establishment of the National Testing Service or National
Evaluation Organisation (as visualised by various Commissions of Education and envisaged
under 5.40, 5.41 (Revised para) of NPE / POA 1986, NPE RC 1990 and CABE,1992)2
was proposed during 2004, by the Centre for Testing & Evaluation (CT&E)3, a 2 ½ decades old R&D
Unit of the CIIL • accordingly, administrative approval of the competent authority
(with the concurrence of Central Planning Commission) has been given to the CT&E
to formulate & implement the NTS (or NEO) with effect from 1-07-2006, for the first
time in the country.
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Objectives
• to enlist the means & ends of education (subject matter,
learner growth, and societal needs), in a hierarchical order with reference to all
the disciplines, and language & lit., to begin with • to demarcate
and distribute them under the seven levels of general education (primary,
upper primary, secondary, higher secondary, graduate, post graduate & research)
• to develop an independent, comprehensive, concept based continuum
of graded syllabi applicable to all the above levels to systematise teaching,
learning, & evaluation process • to evolve a framework for assessing
aptitude, achievement, and proficiency as part of assessing the
allround growth of an individual (both informatory & extrapolatory) • to
prepare tools and scales for collecting, consolidating, and measuring the
requisite data / evidences to undertake assessment & evaluation, in language
discipline to start with, and for the higher secondary and
degree levels at the first instance • to build up consensus
on the materials and methodologies developed for the purpose of
standardisation with reference to various regions of the country, and to evolve
local, regional, and national norms • to establish
standards / benchmarks for the (1) courses / programmes of study
(in terms of content inputs & consequential effects), (2) institutions
/ departments involved in imparting them (in terms of their infrastructure
& social concern), and (3) individuals status / position at various
stages (pre, during, and post stages) of the educational continuum.
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Applications
The fulfillment of the above objectives will have a number of applicational values
in the entire system of education • ensuring explicit indication of
direct utility value (social relevance) for every activity of the educational
process (teaching, learning, and evaluation) • determination of level / gradewise
quantum of content inputs to avoid duplication and content overlapping across the
levels of education • adherence of accountability to all those in
the field of education such as teachers, learners, evaluators, policy planners,
and decision makers • setting standards / benchmarks for admission,
certification, and employment purposes by appropriately covering the entire
strata of the country's complexity of education • evolution of a common basis
(reference point) for maintaining inter and intra4 level comparability
towards establishing equality as enshrined in the constitution • creation of
a scientific and comprehensive system of evaluation as a centralized
mechanism for wider acceptability and viable decision making •delinking
of degrees / certificates from jobs, in order to ensure the purpose of education
is capacity building.
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Operational Strategies
3 Task Groups viz., Research & Development (with a specialised library), Survey
& Documentation (with an electronic information grid), and Consultancy &
Training (with a series of training modules & documentary films) are being set
up at the NTS headquarters to plan and formulate all the basic frameworks
required • 60 Regional Field Units [RFUs] at the first instance, are
being established across 18 states5 of the of the country to disseminate information, prepare
tools, administer them in the field, collect data, undertake item & test analysis,
and to standardise the tools developed for evolving regional norms •
a sub-scheme called Grant-in-Aid has been created within NTS to extend
financial support to the interested individuals / institutions for taking up short
term studies / programmes on material and manpower development in
the area of evaluation • besides, monthly Research Fellowships (45
per annum i.e. 30 doctoral and 15 post doctoral) have also been instituted to encourage
the young researchers of various disciplines to take up advanced studies in this
inter-disciplinary area of evaluation, as a step to strengthen the future manpower
requirements.
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Advisory Mechanism
• a provision has been made for soliciting the views of all those
associated with the policy making process (both at the centre and states)
in order to ensure the inclusion of various needs of the country (which
should essentially form the 'content inputs' of education) appropriately, so that
the materials and methodologies of evaluation being developed
would become meaningful, relevant, and valid • apart from this, a consultancy
mechanism has also been created for obtaining advice on academic and other important
matters with Vice-Chancellors of Universities, Chiefs of Regulatory Bodies (eg.,
NCTE), Representatives of the Institutions that conduct Aptitude Tests (eg. IITs),
Achievement Tests (eg. CBSE), and Proficiency Tests (eg. UPSC), Subject Experts,
Scientists of R & D Organisations, and Senior Officials of the MHRD.
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Beneficiaries
• 100s of Professional Institutions including those of national importance
to have a re-look at their Admission Tests in the context of their validity
in identifying the appropriate aptitude • 100s of Universities, 1000s
of Colleges, and 100000s of Schools across the country to get
their Certification Tests restructured in the context of their relevance
in covering all the areas of learner growth • 100s of Recruitment
Agencies to review their Employment Tests in the context of their
emphasis on performance rather than competence • 5 million Teachers
of different disciplines for acquiring educational insights • 50 million Learners
to know their comparative potentials with reference to the national
and regional norms • 30 million NRIs & PIOs6 to get their to get the quantum
of expected essentials in the area of learning for availing educational
facility in India • 50 million inter-state migrants to continue their
academic pursuits in the new locations as per the local or regional norms
• various School Boards and UGC will have a scientific basis
to recognize the institutions and to determine the quantum of financial support
to be extended.
Ultimately, the country will have an Apex Body for academic auditing,
accountability, maintenance of comparability in quality, thereby ensuring equality
in education as enshrined in the constitution.