Industrial Training Institute (ITI) Exams to have No Negative Marking
- The negative marking rule for ITI exams have been done away with in order to enhance the student performance.
- The rule will be applicable for the ongoing ITI exams despite the rules printed on the question papers.
Industrial Training Institute (ITI) examinations will now have no negative marking. The new rule will be implemented across all ITIs in the country. The recent decision has reversed the practice of negative marking that is being followed since 2013.
The negative marking policy was implemented in ITI exams to raise their level of difficulty. As a result, it has decreased the number of success rates of students enrolled in these institutes. ITIs across India had been complaining about the performance rate of students. Various states, teachers’ association, student unions and training schools had fought against the negative marking rule for ITI exams.
An expert panel had advised that reducing 0.25% marks for every wrong answer in ITI exams will severely hinder the performance of students enrolled at these institutes. The panel also added that most of the students enrolled at these institutes are class 8, 10, 12 pass outs and some are also school dropouts who don’t need such higher difficulty level of exams.
ITIs in many states have declared that they will not be following the negative marking pattern for the ongoing exams. However, the question papers for these exams were printed before the new decision came to light. These question papers read that wrong answers will be rewarded with negative marks.
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The notice released by the Directorate General of Training has stated that this line printed on the sheets should be ignored. It further added that students taking the exams must be made aware about the revised no negative marking policy. The success rate of students at ITIs i.e. currently 60% is expected to rise up to 15%.
Around 15 lakh students take the ITI exam yearly. The aim of the institutes is to train students in various trades. General exams without negative marking is enough to test the general skills and knowledge of the students, experts added. This will also encourage the students to attempt all the questions in the exam as they use to skip the questions earlier due to fear of negative marking.
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The decision will also produce fair results as earlier students with high marks in practical tests used to fail in theory exams due to the negative marking rule.