Page 67 - IJPS-11-2

International Journal of
Population Studies Spatial variation in examination performance

HSLC Examination in 2022 in Assam was higher than positively related to the performance of the students
that of male students, but in terms of performance, male irrespective of place of residence and economic status
students outperformed their female counterparts in most (Gouda et al., 2013).
of the districts. This unbalanced phenomenon may be For promoting equality of opportunities and outcomes
attributed to the less priority given to the education of in SDGs, special attention should be given to social groups
female students, rigidly defined gender roles, and outdated in vulnerable situations, such as SCs or STs communities,
traditions (Nagar, 2021).
to improve their educational access and attainment.
The huge spatial variation that emerged may be Since academic performance is the benchmark of a
due to the existing differences in the socio-economic student’s competency and level of efficiency in their
conditions and infrastructure among the districts. academic work, it is the most important indicator for
Spatial variation in examination performance even predicting the student’s academic progress and future
extends to the socially marginalized students, whose career. The growing emphasis on educational equality for
striking performance variations across districts emerged socially marginalized communities must be given special
as one of the features of the HSLC Examination in Assam. consideration to reduce educational disparities. Thus far,
Nonetheless, the gender gap in HSLC Examination the Indian government has developed and implemented
performance appeared to be slightly less pronounced caste- and ethnicity-based affirmative policies and
among the socially marginalized students than among activities to promote equality in education. There are
all the students in general. With the diminishing additional aspects that require special attention to make
gender discrimination among the socially marginalized a decisive intervention to improve this situation so that
communities, especially the tribal communities, the all children, regardless of religion, caste, class, gender,
education of female students is given equal importance, or location, receive an education of equivalent quality
same as that of male students. for better academic performance. Hence, there is a need
Religion is considered one of the strongest sociocultural to comprehend the educational performance of socially
parameters affecting human behavior and practices. It may disadvantaged students for policy implications.
also have a multifaceted influence on the performance of
students in crucial examinations. The poorer performance 5. Conclusion
of the students from religions other than the Hindu Education is an indispensable tool for bailing out socially
religion may be due to their economic condition. However, marginalized students and their communities where they
the performance of the socially marginalized Christian belong to from socioeconomic backwardness. Education,
students was found to be better than that of the students especially higher education, can not only enlighten their
of other religions. This may be due to the fact that some of minds but also bring economic prosperity to them. HSLC
these students have access to good education systems, such Examination is the only gateway through which everyone in
as missionary schools.
India has to pass through before pursuing higher education
The medium of instruction is another important since there is no other alternative one can adopt to bypass
factor that influences the academic performance of HSLC Examination. In Assam, the performance of socially
students. The presence of students enrolled in English- marginalized students is comparatively poorer than the
medium schools in every district of Assam indicates a overall performance in the state. Hence, it is imperative to
strong preference for such schools (Upadhaya, 2017). take the necessary steps to improve their performance in the
Educated parents and parents who can afford an English HSLC examination and reduce spatial disparity across the
education prefer sending their children to English- districts in Assam. Furthermore, there is a need to reduce the
medium schools for better academic performance and gender disparity across all segments of the society in the state.
job prospects. The results of the present study also
revealed that irrespective of social status, students Acknowledgments
studying in English-medium schools could achieve None.
higher academic performance in comparison to those
studying in vernacular schools (Assamese, Bengali, and Funding
Bodo). Some plausible reasons accounting for the better
performance of students from English-medium schools None.
include better school infrastructure and motivation Conflict of interest
from parents, students, and teachers. However, an
important point to underline is that schooling cost is The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Volume 11 Issue 2 (2025) 61 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.0886