The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), on Thursday, told the Supreme Court about its decision to cancel the Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations. The exams were originally scheduled to be held from July 1 to July 15. The decision was taken by CBSE after carefully considering the rising COVID-19 situation across the country, and the inability of certain states to conduct the board exams at centres successfully. Students and parents alike had also expressed concern over appearing for board examinations in the current health crisis.
According to the CBSE, class 10 board exams are entirely cancelled while class 12 exams are optional for students. On behalf of the CBSE, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta presented before the Supreme Court an alternative scheme to grade the students on the remaining subjects. Students will be assessed on their performance in past exams at school. Class 12 students who seek to improve their grades can opt-in favour of appearing for the exams on a later date. The marks scored in the exam will be considered their final grade. It is to be noted that the alternative to writing the exams later is only offered to class 12 students. Examination schedule for students who want to appear later will be arranged when the environment is conducive.
In light of the present crisis, students’ safety has been emphasized. Hence, the decision by CBSE to do away with the board examinations seems to have come as a major sigh of relief for students and their families. ICSE has found the CBSE’s suggested scheme of internal assessment favorable. The CBSE will release notification soon with clarification regarding internal assessment, result declaration and other details now that the exams have been cancelled.
Last week, the Andhra Pradesh government too had announced its decision to cancel class 10 examinations in the state in wake of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases.
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