Agartala, July 3: School education in Tripura is set for a major overhaul, one that students will not be unhappy with.

Having introduced the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus at the school level, the education department in Tripura is planning to do away with the system of promotion or failure through annual examinations for students upto Class VIII. The conventional system of evaluation through terminal and annual examinations may also face the axe.

The minister for school education, Keshav Mazumder, said the twin steps were in keeping with the policies and principles followed by the central government. ?We are now following the CBSE syllabus and with regard to evaluation of students also we have to follow the central system,? Mazumder told students and guardians in Bhubanban after inaugurating an English medium school in the area.

Mazumder said the state government was under pressure from the Centre to do away with the present evaluation system through examinations. ?We are currently examining the pros and cons of the issue and will soon take a decision,? he said.

The minister however asserted that abolishing the system of declaring students as ?passed? or ?plucked? did not mean there would be no evaluation. ?The methodology will change but there will be regular evaluation and students will be inspired to study hard and prepare themselves for the next higher class,? Mazumder said.

He added that after a careful analysis of all aspects of the issue, the new system would be introduced from the next academic year.

He also referred to an action plan through which the state government would try to put an end to the practice of dropping out at the school level by 2010. ?By next year we will ensure that all eligible children of the state are enrolled in schools.?

For the recruitment of teachers for government schools, the education department has decided to give preference to candidates who have received teachers? training. Sources in the department said teachers? training would not be made a compulsory precondition at the initial stage.

At present only a third of the 34,000 teachers in Tripura are trained.