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Hashtag #cancelboardexam2021 had been trending on Twitter for several days, recording more than 5 lakh tweets by Sunday. Amid mounting pressure from the students and the parents equally, the Ministry of Education has decided to postpone the class 12 exams and cancel the class 10 board exams after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. For CBSE class 12 boards, the situation will be reviewed on June 1 to announce fresh dates thereafter. The results for CBSE class 10 students will be prepared on the basis of an “objective criterion” to be developed by the Board. Any candidate who is not satisfied 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.
A bold decision by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi indeed. Over 30 lakh students appear for CBSE Class 10 and 12 board exams every year on average. Considering the large number of students involved, conducting offline exams amid a pandemic had raised concerns over the health of students and teachers involved. Seeing the major surge and the speed of the virus travelling, parents and authorities are equally worried about the future of the exams. It has been a year since the schools closed down due to the pandemic.
With online teaching becoming a norm, parents, teachers and other educational authorities are now facing an uphill task of finding out a solution to a stagnant learning. One year has gone-by, students are being promoted to the next classes respectively compromising on the quality of learning. They no more find classes interesting and have ample excuses to avoid the same, teachers are exhausted since they are not accustomed to the online teaching system. In short, pandemic has raised many questions on the future of education in India especially because a majority of students belong to the rural background.
Many states like Maharashtra, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and others had already postponed the Board exams till the situation normalizes. After the decision by the Central Government, State boards too will be taking necessary steps in this direction. CBSE had already announced several changes in the board exams this year including conducting an improvement exam for students in the same as their academic year. The board had also slashed its syllabus by 30 per cent and increased the conceptual questions asked in the exams.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also demanded for the cancellation of CBSE Board exams. He said, “6 lakh children in Delhi are going to write CBSE exams. Nearly 1 lakh teachers will be a part of it. These can become major hotspots leading to the large-scale spreading of Corona. Children’s lives and health are very important to us. I request the Centre to cancel CBSE exams”.
CBSE परीक्षा आने वाली है जिनमें 6 लाख बच्चे परीक्षा में बैठेंगे, 1 लाख टीचर्स इसमें शामिल होंगे। ऐसे में बहुत बड़े स्तर पर संक्रमण फैल सकता है। हमारे लिए बच्चों की सुरक्षा बहुत ज़रुरी है, केंद्र से मेरी अपील है कि CBSE की परीक्षा को रद्द कर कोई और विकल्प अपनाया जाए। pic.twitter.com/2yFi2XmG2Q
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 13, 2021
He further added, “Some alternative methods could be thought of. Children can be promoted this time on the basis of either an online method or internal assessment. But CBSE exams should be cancelled”.
