Colourful questions

A project to bring students to the exam hall is beginning to show results

Till about two years ago,around 50 per cent of the children in classes X and XII of the government-run Jai Kisan Vidyamandir in Wadhkal village failed to clear their exams. But things have been changing steadily. Last year,the pass percentage was above 70 per cent and this year,it is above 90 per cent. The turnaround happened after the school introduced the Laminated Question Paper LQP project,a colourful question paper set launched in 2009.

Pink,yellow,green and whitethe laminated question papers have not only inspired these students to attempt exams but have motivated other rural schools in Wadhkal,about 135 km from Pune,to try the same in their schools. The idea was to get children used to exams. So instead of annual exams,children were given an LQP a month and told to solve them. The papers were laminated for them to last long and came in bright colours to attract students.

We wanted to come up with a solution that was cost-effective as well as long-lasting, says R M Patil,principal,who conceptualised the LQP project.

Since it was an independent project initiated by the school,it could not seek funds from the government. But Patil got help from a local NGO,SOBATEE Social Organisation for Betterment Awareness for Training,Education and Environment.

As part of the project,each subject was divided into seven parts,so that it covered the entire syllabus,and LQPs were drawn up. So for nine different subjects,we prepared 63 LQPs, says M N Nene,head,SOBTEE.

To save on resources,questions of two different subjects were printed on either side of the paper. For instance,a student can attempt questions of science as well as history with just one sheet of paper.

Though initially the attractive LQPs helped pull in students to the examination room,Patil says getting them to solve the papers was an arduous task.

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So,for the first four exam papers,the school let the students refer to the subject notebook or textbook for answers. And once the students got into the rhythm,the books were withdrawn. All students are given files in which they file their answer sheets,which are later discussed with their subject teachers.

In the beginning,Sanket Mhatre and his friends would bet on the colour of LQP they would get to solve but gradually,everyone got down to business. Sanket has scored 91 per cent in his class X exam. Like most other students,he comes from a very poor family. His house lacks basic amenities like electricity. But we hope Sanket will do well for himself, says Vasant Athawale,secretary,SOBTEE.