Comprehension passage in HSC Dhivehi paper sparks controversy

Scores of students and parents have taken to social media to express concern over a reading comprehension in the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) Dhivehi paper that students sat for on Sunday.

The concerns regarding the passage are twofold; for one, students and parents allege that the same reading comprehension in the exam was already done by students from the state-run Center for Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) in the capital as part of their classwork, and was also discussed during the Dhivehi camp held ahead of the exam.

They also allege that essay topic in the paper was also something CHSE students had practiced beforehand.

This has raised concerns that students from CHSE were given an unfair advantage over students from other schools, undermining the fairness of the exam, especially after it emerged that one of the school’s teachers had been involved in preparing the HSC Dhivehi paper.

One high school Dhivehi teacher who spoke to Sun said that while he knows for a fact the comprehension passage itself is something the CHSE students had practiced beforehand, he is unable to say if the questions they practiced and the questions in the exam paper were the same.

He added that his students were unhappy that CHSE students got the chance to practice the essay topic beforehand, but suggested that a repeat of essay topics is not unusual, and could just be a coincidence.

The second key concern being raised on social media is the allegation that the passage contains material with sexual undertones that is not age appropriate for school students.

While the passage used in the paper was taken from a story with sexual innuendo suitable for a mature readership, Sun was not able to independently verify whether the passage included in the paper was the original version or a redacted one.

One parent who spoke to Sun said she finds the whole situation unacceptable.

“How underhanded is this for students to have been made to practice A-level exam papers and passages and stuff beforehand. The same topic. The very same passage. Doesn’t this constitute to favoring specific students? This is completely unethical,” said the parent.

Former Education Minister Dr. Aishath Ali also expressed concern over the situation.

“If this is true, the integrity of the exam is compromised. Some students also shared that the comprehension passage contained inappropriate content for students and was very disturbing. I hope those responsible look into this as soon as possible,” she wrote on Facebook.

Mohamed Ihusan, who had headed the Department of Public Examinations (DPE) during the previous administration, blamed this on a recent systemic change that now allows for school teachers to prepare papers for the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and HSC exams.

“The research to prepare items for exam papers, preparation of items, matching it against the curriculum and proofreading it was all carried out through a collaborative mechanism between the DPE and the NIE [National Institute of Education]. The DPE and the education minister needs to explain to the students why changed this entire system to have school teachers prepare exam papers,” said the former deputy education minister.

Ihusan said he was deeply concerned over what happed with the Dhivehi paper.

He said that the authorities must vacate the results of the paper, and prepare a new one that is fair.

Veteran Dhivehi language teacher Abdulla Jameel said the DPE has always prepared three national school exam papers. He said that school teachers were previously excluded from preparing these papers, but a recent change to rules now allows teachers to get involved in the process, unless they teach the 12th grade.

“A CHSE teacher was involved. But it can’t be said that the paper was made by the teacher. That is something the DPE is privy to,” he said.

Jameel, too, said that both the comprehension passage and one of the questions in the essay were both practiced beforehand by CHSE students as part of their classwork.

“The passage for the reading comprehension was from Ibrahim Hussain Manik’s story ‘Photo Foiy’. The society has changed a lot [since the story was written]. So, it is possible there’s some material that is not appropriate for students.”

Jameel said he is unable to say why the DPE did not catch this before approving the paper.

“We believe the passages in exams must be appropriate based on the level of understanding and age of students and it must be suitable for a school exam. The problematic parts were removed when the CHSE gave it as a reading comprehension, but the DPE did not. This is where the problem arose,” he said.

Scores of students and parents continue to raise their concerns over the Dhivehi paper on social media platforms.

The Education Ministry has yet to make an official comment regarding the concerns.