Students’ body writes to PM for internal assessment

The All India JEE-NEET Students’ Association (AIJNSA) of India has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a plea to conduct an internal assessment for CBSE, NIOS, ICSE, and all state boards.

The letter states that in the last two years, given that the quality of education has not been up to the mark, internal assessment is the best option to grade students.

While students have been demanding online exams for the last few weeks, there seems to be a louder uproar in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, considering the rising number of Covid-19 cases.

The letter adds that boards like Maharashtra Board, NIOS and some others where exams are underway or have finished, students had no ‘abridge’ in the syllabus – their entire syllabus was completed in the online mode. It adds that students in Maharashtra had also reported malpractices across exam centres, so it’s only fair that internal assessment is chosen over external exams.

Surprisingly, in Mumbai, students are not as perturbed over the offline mode. While they agree that offline is a better option, they have given in to the system. Shruti Verma, a Class 10 student from the city, said she is mentally prepared. “We are all prepared now, we want to give the Board exams. Those who weren’t prepared during Term 1 have prepared as well. And we have time between exams so we can study.”

Manhit Sankhla, a Class 12 Science student said, “We want Board exams now; the idea of cancelling board exams is a complete mess for us. We want to appear for it and score for all the hard work we have done.”

Students and parents from across the country are planning to approach Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan soon to express their support for internal assessment over offline board exams. AIJNSA National President Himanshu Borah said, “Covid cases are on the rise, and students are still anxious about taking the exams. On their behalf, we would like to urge that 50 per cent of the assessment be internal, 30 per cent from the Term-1 exam, and the remaining 20 per cent based on practical exams carried out by the Board.”

The letter states that in the last two years, given that the quality of education has not been up to the mark, internal assessment is the best option to grade students