Most states favour shorter duration for Class 12 exams
NEW DELHI: Almost all states and Union territories (UTs) on Tuesday told the education ministry that the Central Board for Secondary Education’s (CBSE) Class 12 examinations should be held, with most favouring shorter duration tests for the 19 major subjects.
Only Delhi, Punjab and West Bengal opposed holding examinations till all teachers and students were vaccinated. There were also differences over when the examination should be held. Some flood and extreme rainfall prone states such as Bihar, Assam and Uttarakhand want the examination to be held after the monsoon season.
The Union education ministry had given the states and UTs time till Tuesday to decide on the CBSE class 12 exams and choose one of the two options.
The first option was threehour examination for 19 major subjects in month of August. The second was 90-minute exams with students having to appear only in one language and three elective subjects from July 15 to August I and then from August 5 to August 26.
The exams will be 90 minutes long and will feature multiple choice questions (MCQ). Results for both options were proposed to be declared by the end of September.
The education ministry officials had said the idea was to start a shorter, new academic year from November and to reduce undue stress on students and parents. The ministry had said that cancelling the exams was also an option provided most states recommended that.
Among a few states that have suggested cancelling the examination was Delhi. “If the Centre and state governments work together, it would take 3 to 4 weeks to fully vaccinate teachers and students of class 12. Following vaccination, the ministry can arrange for examination as per option B,” Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia wrote to the Union education ministry on Tuesday.
Punjab school education minister Vijay Inder Singla backed Sisodia’s suggestion and preferred option B. “All students appearing in Class 12 board exams and teachers, both government and private, should be vaccinated before the board exams begin,” he said.
West Bengal also wanted the examinations to be cancelled. An official of the state education
department said the state government wants indefinite postponement of the state board examinations in view of the pandemic.
According to officials in multiple states, there is a view that the shorter duration examination for lesser subjects be held in July before the onset of heavy monsoon and floods in northern and eastern states.
Uttarakhand government has expressed its inability to conduct the examinations after mid July and August, when the state receives heavy rainfall. “If exams cannot be held in June end or July first week, then it should be postponed till September as during peaking monsoon season, examinations in a hill state like ours won’t be suitable,” said state school education secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram.
Bihar government, too, has raised the issue of floods, especially in northern parts of the state, in July end and August. “The Centre should consider online option,” Bihar education minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said. The Bihar Board examinations were held in February and results declared in March end, he added.
Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Kerala want the CBSE examinations to be held with adequate time given to students to prepare.
Kerala education minister V Sivankutty said the state preferred the second option and informed the Union government that apprehension of students regarding their higher studies should be addressed immediately.
“We also want the second option,” said Jharkhand education secretary Rajesh Sharma. Tamil Nadu school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi told reporters that they would prefer the second option as it would reduce stress on students. “A final decision would be taken by chief minister MK Stalin,” he said.
Chhattisgarh education minister Prem Sai Singh Tekam wrote a letter to education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal and said that the Centre should hold the CBSE exams as early as possible.
Himachal Pradesh education secretary Rajeev Sharma wrote to the education ministry on Tuesday saying option B appears to be feasible as it requires a shorter window and will also reduce stress on the examinees. He said exams should be held when new Covid-19 cases are at the lowest.
Adviser to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (L-G), RR Bhatnagar, who also holds school education portfolio, said, they would abide by the Centre’s directions on holding class 12 CBSE exams and the National
Eligibility-cum-Entrance Tes (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). He added that class 12 exams of J&K state board have already been completed in the Kashmir Valley and two-third completed in the Jammu region.
Chandigarh has also opted for shorter duration for 12 examinations, said director, school education, Rubinderjit Singh Brar.
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments informed the ministry that they would prefer the second option but a final decision would depend on the Covid-19 ground situation. Andhra Pradesh is holding class 10 examination from June 7 even though Telangana has cancelled all exams and promoted all students except those in class 12, whose examination dates would be announced later, said state education minister Adimulapu Suresh.
Haryana education minister Kanwar Pal said the state will follow in letter and spirit the Centre’s direction even as they prefer the second option. He said if the Centre gives green signal to hold the exams, the state education department would start the state board examinations from June 20.
States which have opted for the first, longer duration exams are Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
MP school education minister Inder Singh Parmar said they want the first option as changing examination system mid-day can create problems for students. “We have suggested to conduct exam as per existing pattern because introduction of new pattern just 1-2 month before the final exam would create confusion among students,” he said.
He added that the CBSE exam schedule should be decided after taking stock of the Covid-19 situation in different states. The minister said MP will take final decision on conducting class 12 exam of MP Board in June first week after analysing the ground situation.
Rajasthan education minister Govind Singh Dotasara said the state supports holding Class 12 exams. A change in pattern would not be comfortable for the students. The exam date should be decided only after assessing the Covid-19 situation, he said.