'Merit cannot be reduced to a single mark.' Evaluate this statement in the context of PARAKH's holistic assessment framework.

Merit, in educational theory, is the sum of a learner's cognitive, affective and psychomotor capacities. India's single-shot examination culture compresses this into one rank, prompting NEP 2020 — approved by the Union Cabinet on 29 July 2020 [1] — to create PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) as an autonomous national assessment centre under NCERT [2]. The statement is largely valid, though a single mark retains limited utility.

Why a single mark is an inadequate measure of merit

• Narrow construct validity: summative one-day tests reward rote recall, not the analysis, critical thinking and conceptual clarity NEP 2020 seeks to assess [1].
• Human cost: NCRB's Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India series records a steep decade-long rise in student suicides, with "failure in examination" a distinct recorded cause [3], indicating that rank-based worth carries measurable social harm.
• Equity deficit: coaching-dependent single exams advantage those who can pay, converting economic capital into apparent "merit".

How PARAKH's framework broadens merit

• Holistic Progress Card: a 360-degree, multi-dimensional record of each learner across cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains, incorporating self- and peer-assessment [2].
• Formative and competency-based testing at Grades 3, 5 and 8, shifting evaluation from a terminal verdict to a continuous, remedial process [1].
• Equivalence and standard-setting across all recognised school boards, promoting fairness and comparability rather than a single filtering score [2].

Limits of the framework

• PARAKH is a standard-setting body, not an examination-conducting one; boards and states retain operational control, so uptake is uneven.
• NEP 2020 is executive policy, not statute, limiting enforceability in a concurrent-list subject.
• High-stakes entrance tests outside school education remain untouched by the reform.

Merit is therefore better read as a spectrum of demonstrated competencies than as a percentile. Strengthening PARAKH through statutory backing, teacher training in formative assessment and integration with school counselling can align evaluation with SDG-4's promise of inclusive, equitable quality education — restoring dignity to the learner without diluting standards.