July 1-15 board exams stand cancelled: CBSE
Class 12 students to be assessed on basis of score in exams already done
NEWDELHI: The pending examinations for Classes 10 and 12 have been scrapped, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) said on Thursday, announcing an alternative assessment formula that will grade students based on their performance in subjects for which tests were held before the lockdown came into effect in late March.
The decision was first disclosed at a hearing in Supreme Court, where a petition against the July 1-15 examination schedule was filed by a group of parents who said that going ahead with the tests would expose their children to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Later in the evening, the board – the country’s largest by number of students – announced the decision to cancel the exams, citing “requests received from various state governments and the changed circumstances as on date”. Appearing for the Centre and CBSE, solicitor general (SG) Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court that Delhi, Maharashtra and TN had expressed their inability to conduct the examinations.
At least 23 subjects were pending for Class 12 students. The six pending papers for Class 10 were only for students in north-east Delhi schools, where communal riots earlier in the year forced the process to be pushed back.
The fate of the school-graduating examinations is tied to the college admissions process across the country, which students and experts expect to be delayed this year due to the pandemic.
According to the CBSE notification, results will be announced by July 15 with scores based on the new assessment formula. While Class 10 students will not have any option to take a retest, students in the school-graduating twelfth grade can opt for an examination at a later date if “conditions become conducive”.
According to the notification, the automatic assessments will work in the following way: If a student appeared for more than three subjects before the examinations were suspended, an average score will be calculated taking into account the three subjects in which the student scored highest. This will be allotted to the remaining subject.
For those who appeared in fewer examinations, the average will be based on the two highest scoring subjects and allotted to the remaining papers.
“Candidates whose results will be declared based on the assessment scheme will be allowed to appear in the optional examinations to improve their performance, if they wish so. However, the marks obtained by a candidate in these optional examinations will be treated as final,” the notification added.
The Council for Indian School Certificate Examination, appearing in a related PIL in the apex court, agreed to adopt the decision of CBSE to cancel its Class 10 and 12 examinations scheduled for July 2-11. However, it is yet to decide on giving an option for Class 12 students to take the remaining exam on a future date.