The Baccalaureate exams in the final stage
By Cristina Nazaru
The Baccalaureate exams finished, the results were announced, the appeals against low marks made, the period of retakes has begun and the diplomas will soon be issued.
For many years, perhaps, since their introduction in the Moldovan education system, the Baccalaureate exams have created more than a problem both to pupils and their parents. The Minister of Education has repeated in many instances that efforts have been made to lessen students’ troubles connected with the exams. “We have done everything possible that this year Baccalaureate session would be organized at the highest standards, trying to produce the appropriate environment necessary for a good ongoing of the exams, creating a favorable atmosphere for students, avoiding stressful situations, characteristic of this period, and last but not least, assuring equal conditions for all the students independent of what part of the country they be in.”
Indeed some changes were noticed: Police was not present in the Baccalaureate centres, the examinees took the exams in classrooms (not in halls, gyms or canteens), every item in the evaluation was evaluated twice by two different teachers, new mathematical formulas were used in rating, the period for appealing was increased from 24 to 48 hours, fewer students appealed for mark rectifications, more cases of corruption were investigated, etc
Despite all these, the Baccalaureate remains a defective experience for the Moldovan society. Teachers, parents and students express disagreement with the forms of the examinations, the contents and the results. But, as long as higher education establishments will admit students on the basis of the Baccalaureate exams, every child, parent and teacher will do his/her best to obtain high marks. As long as subjects in lyceums will be compulsory there will be frustrated children and unsatisfactory results. As long as examinations will take place massively in hundreds of centres all over the country there will be cheating and corruption.
Thus, the only conclusion we can make is that the education system in Moldova is imperfect. We need a complete reorganization of the system and the new Education Code of the Republic of Moldova is certainly not the right solution.
P.S. But maybe the change we need is the fundamental reformation of the whole society and the total reconsideration of human values.
Comments