Students in Delhi uncertain about marks, their future

NEW DELHI: While the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) notification on the revised assessment scheme in place of board exams brought closure for many parents and students on Friday, candidates from northeast Delhi, which was rocked by communal riots earlier this year, are still uncertain about their future.

The board said there are “very few students of class 12, mainly from Delhi, who have appeared in the examination in only one or two subjects. Their results will be declared based on performance in the appeared subjects and performance in internal/practical/ project assessment.”

Mohammad Arsh, a class 12 student of Victoria Public School in Yamuna Vihar, said the revised assessment scheme is likely to be a disadvantage for him. “My English paper, which was pending, will be graded on the basis of the Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Physical Education papers that I appeared for. These are difficult subjects compared to English where scoring is easier. Most students who perform well in English tend to have a higher best-of-four score. In case I try for the Delhi University, my low aggregate might prove to be a hindrance.”

He also said that many of his friends were unable to appear for multiple papers and risked getting sub-par scores, unlike the rest of the students.

Due to the communal violence, that spread in various northeast Delhi localities in late February, the CBSE was unable to conduct tests on four examination days and “a very small number of students from and around this district were not able to appear in exams on six examination days,” the board had said in April.

On Friday, it said class 10 students across the country, including northeast Delhi, would be promoted on the basis of the revised assessment scheme, under which their pending papers would be graded on the basis of the average of their three or two best scores in the papers they had already appeared for.

Gulsara Kamal, a class 10 student of St Lawrence Public School in Dilshad Garden, said, “My English and Hindi papers were pending, which generally help students fetch more marks in board exams and improve our aggregate. Now, these exams have been cancelled. I was hoping to switch schools as my current school doesn’t have the subjects I want to study. If the revised scheme affects my aggregate, I might not be able to do that.”

The results of all students will be declared by July 15. While class 10 students will not get a chance to appear for improvement papers, the Board has allowed class 12 students to appear for optional exams, which may be conducted at a later stage when situation is “conducive”.

Jyoti Rani, principal of Arun Modern Public School which was damaged in the riots, said, “Students have approached teachers for clarifications and what the revised assessment means. Most of the documents in our school were damaged in the fire.”