CBSE re-exams spare students in the UAE
dubai — Over 10,000 CBSE students of Class 10 and 12 in the UAE heaved a sigh of relief after the board announced that there will be no re-examination for students outside India. Anil Swarup, Secretary, School Education in HRD Ministry, said that while Class 10 Maths re-exam will be held only in Delhi and Haryana and the re-examination for Class 12 Economics will be held on April 25, the re-exam will be only in these states.
We were all celebrating after the last exam but then had a shocker with retest. So, this decision comes as a great relief. .”
Pranav Girish, Grade 10, Abu Dhabi
The exam was pretty easy for me and I was relieved. I am taking Commerce for Grade 11 and it was goodbye to algebra and geometry.”
Jafer Poovankara, Grade 10, Dubai
My exam went off quite well. We had all planned our holidays and due to this re-exam, we had to cancel all our plans.”
Jagruti Dialani, Grade 10, Dubai
I’m thankful that the re-exam is cancelled as it would have been really difficult for the students to get back into the study routine.”
Aaron George, Grade 12, Dubai
When the CBSE announced the re-exam, we were in complete shock as all our plans would have to be thrashed.”
Nathan Gomes, Grade 12, Dubai
I was all set to go to India to enjoy vacations with my cousin but everything changed for us with this re-exam thing. It is such a relief to get this news.”
Abdullah Zaheer, Grade 10, Dubai
I’m someone who is very fond of video games and the day I unpacked my games, my dad saw the news on TV and ordered to get back to studies.”
Divyank Samtani, Grade 10, Sharjah
I was staying up nights to practise and after the exam, I was super happy. I am grateful to CBSE as I can catch up on my sleep.”
Elizabeth John, Grade 10, Sharjah
dubai — Grade 10 and 12 students following India’s Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in the UAE could not believe their ears when they first heard that their reexam over reports of a paper leak in India was cancelled. Most of the students said their original exam had gone well and the news of reappearing was “really depressing”.
On March 28, the CBSE announced that the Class 10 Mathematics and Class 12 Economics exams will be held again over reports of question paper leak. However, on March 30, the board announced that it would be conducting Class 12 Economics exams for all candidates “except students in CBSE schools located abroad”. As regards the Class 10 Mathematics paper, the board said that since the initial probes revealed that the leak was restricted to the states of Delhi and Haryana, the re-exam will not be considered for any other state.
Nathan Gomes, Grade 12 student of Our Own Indian School, Dubai, said: “I am thrilled to hear this news. My original exam had gone really well and I was ready to execute plans after the exams which I had prepared for nearly three months. When the CBSE announced the reexam, we were in complete shock as all our plans would have to be thrashed. Moreover, university admissions would have to be pushed back. So I cannot explain my excitement. Let the culprits reappear, why should we suffer.”
In the UAE, 8,474 students would have had to re-appear the Class 10 Math exam and 2,713 students from Class 12 for the Economics paper.
Aaron George, Grade XII, Our Own Indian School, Dubai, said: “I’m really thankful that the reexam is cancelled as it would have been really difficult for the students to get back into the study routine. We had put our 100 per cent in the exam and it was hard for us to know that the exam was cancelled as reexam meant our efforts were meaningless.”
Anil Swarup, secretary, School Education at Indian Union Human Resources Development Ministry, reportedly said that the re-examination for Class 12 Economics paper will be held on April 25 in India. Swarup said the decision to conduct fresh exams won’t affect the date of publication of the results which usually happens in May end.
According to Indian media reports, Swarup reaffirmed that ‘no fresh test outside of India’.
Ecstatic Jagruti Dialani, Class 10, Indian High School, said: “It is such a relief to get this news. I cannot even begin to tell you what stress me, my friends and family went through. Firstly, I am not too fond of Math but still my exam went off quite well and I was happy that it was over. Secondly, we had all planned our holidays and due to this re-exam, we had to cancel all our plans. So I am super happy for this news. Thanks CBSE.”
Feeling relaxed, Jafer Poovankara of Indian High School said: “Math is the toughest subject for me. The exam was pretty easy for me and I was relieved. I am taking Commerce for Grade 11 and it was goodbye to algebra and geometry. When I heard I had to repeat the exam, I was heartbroken.”
The CBSE decision came as students and their parents took to the streets across India to denounce the question paper leak and, in some cases, demand the sacking of the CBSE head Anita Karwal. The leak and re-test has affected thousands of students and forced their families to postpone or cancel planned holidays.
saman@khaleejtimes.com