CBSE cancels Class 10, delays Class 12 exams
PM Modi says well-being of students has to be the top priority for govt
NEW DELHI: The Centre on Wednesday cancelled the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 10 examinations scheduled to be held in May and June and postponed those of Class 12 amid a steep nationwide surge in Covid-19 cases, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that the wellbeing of students was the top priority for the government.
At least 1.8 million CBSE students appeared for Class 10 board examinations, while about 1.2 million took the Class 10 test last year. In the view of the Covid-19 outbreak, the Union ministry of education previously postponed the board examinations; usually, practical tests are held in January and written exams are conducted in February and March every year.
The Prime Minister chaired a high-level meeting on Wednesday to review the examinations to be held at various levels in view of the developing situation, a statement by the education ministry said. It said the results of Class 10 exams will be prepared on the basis of an “objective criterion” to be developed by CBSE.
“Any candidate who is not sat
isfied with the marks allocated to him/her on this basis will be given an opportunity to sit in an exam as and when the conditions are conducive to hold the exams,” the statement added. It said CBSE will review the situation on June 1 and that a notice of at least 15 days will be given before the start of the Class 12 examinations.
CBSE did not immediately provide details of the expected evaluation criteria for Class 10. Officials said that it might be done on the basis of internal and practical exams. “The board is yet to decide the criteria that can be uniformly applied to all CBSEaffiliated schools,” an official said on condition of anonymity.
Demands were made by several quarters including students, academicians and politicians to cancel the exams as they posed a risk to millions of students and teachers amid the global public health crisis. On Wednesday, record 184,372 cases were reported across the country, with experts saying that the second wave of the pandemic has begun to overwhelm health care infrastructure in some hot spots.
“Looking at the present situation of the pandemic and school closures, and also taking into account the safety and well-being of the students, it is decided as follows: The Board Exams for Class 12 to be held from May 4th to June, 14th, 2021 are hereby postponed. These exams will be held hereafter,” the Centre said.
The decision was welcomed by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who on Tuesday urged the Centre to cancel the exams, saying about 700,000 students and teachers would be at risk if the exams were conducted in person. “I am glad that the exams have been cancelled/postponed. This is a great relief for lakhs of students and their parents,” he tweeted.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, however, said the board exams must be cancelled for Class 12, too, as keeping the students “under pressure” till June was “unfair”. Delhi deputy chief minister and education minister Manish Sisodia also made a similar demand.
Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi earlier urged the education minister Pokhriyal to intervene and direct CBSE to reconsider its decision to go ahead with the board examinations in May.
Union education minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, the principal secretary to the Prime Minister, cabinet secretary, school and higher education secretaries and other top officials attended Wednesday’s meeting chaired by the PM.
“The Prime Minister reiterated that the well being of the students has to be the top priority for the government. He also stated that the Centre would keep in mind the best interests of the students and ensure that their health is taken care of at the same time their academic interests are not harmed,” the education minister tweeted.
The official statement released by his ministry said: “The pandemic situation in the country is seeing a resurgence of Covid-19 positive cases in many states, with a few states having been affected more than others. In this situation, schools have been shut down in 11 states. Unlike state boards, CBSE has an all-India character, and therefore, it is essential to hold exams simultaneously throughout the country.”
In March last year, CBSE postponed the remaining board exams when a nationwide lockdown was enforced to check the spread of the pandemic. The leftover tests were later cancelled, and the results were announced on the basis of an alternative assessment scheme.
Maharashtra school education minister Varsha Gaikwad also urged the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations and other boards to reschedule their exam dates due to the surge in the Covid-19 cases in the state, which is currently the worst-hit by the pandemic.
CISCE is yet to announce any decision regarding its Class 10 (ICSE) and Class 12 (ISC) exams scheduled from May 4. CICSE chief executive and secretary Gerry Arathoon said: “The board will make a decision regarding the examinations and inform students at the earliest.”
At least 200,000 students have signed an online petition demanding the cancellation of CBSE board exams and the hasthtag “cancelboardexams” has also been trending on Twitter for a week.
Darshan Ram, a Class 12 student at New Delhi’s Bluebells School International, said: “Postponing exams was the wisest decision to be taken in the present scenario. But what will happen if the situation continues to remain the same till June 1 as well? It will delay the entire academic cycle once again. The government should have prepared some uniform alternative evaluation criteria for both classes 10 and 12 in the last one year taking into consideration how exams were cancelled last time as well.”
Jyoti Arora, the principal of Mount Abu Public School, said: “It is a balanced decision. It is easier for schools to evaluate Class 10 students on the basis of their internal assessments, preboards, and practical exams. We
were doing the same between 2010 and 2018 when the Class 10 board exam was optional. However, for Class 12, it is different since its marks are linked with college admissions.”
Yash Singhal, a Class 10 student at New Delhi’s Modern Public School, said: “My parents were really worried about my safety amid the rising Covid-19 cases in Delhi. We are thankful to the government for having cancelled our exams and keeping our safety a priority. Similarly, a decision should be taken for Class 12 students.”
Educationist Meeta Sengupta said cancelling Class 10 exams is a wise decision since the basic purpose of these exams is to prepare students for further exams. “For Class 12, the CBSE should come up with some innovative ways of assessment that are Covid-19 safe and do not necessarily test for memory and are in accordance with the New Education Policy (NEP).”
States including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab have already announced changes in plans for their board exams.
Schools across the country were closed in March last year to contain the spread of Covid-19 ahead of the nationwide hard lockdown.
Several states started reopening schools partially from October last year, but physical classes are again being suspended in view of the exponential rise in the Covid-19 cases.