CBSE cancels CLASS 10th exams, postpones CLASS 12th exams!

Board Exams have always been a hot topic amongst the students, but this year it was more so amidst their parents, and rightly so. With Covid cases rising exponentially, over 2 lakh students and petrified parents signed online petition to cancel the ‘Board Exams 2021’.

Finally, on the 14th of April 2021, the CBSE board cancelled exams for Class X, and told that the result will be prepared based on a fair criterion yet to be determined. The exams with respect to Grade XII, however, are postponed till the 1st of June, 2021 at which date The Board is going to review the situation and decide accordingly. We are in consonance with the decision to cancel Grade X exams by CBSE, and we hope that the other boards such as ICSE and ISC would also be on the same page; their decision remains awaited though.

We feel however, that for grade XII, instead of postponing the exams, the education ministry can develop alternative assessment schemes. Simply because, in times as uncertain as these, the recurring postponement would affect the schedule of higher education entrance exams and admissions. The students are already stressed about entrance exams like NEET and JEE, and this rescheduling might add up to the stress.

Conducting the board exams online might come in handy during such tardy times. Technology should be put to the best possible use and Alternative Assessment Measures should be adopted, as its the need of the hour. Also, the colleges and universities can conduct their respective online entrance exams and thorough personal interviews to create a fair merit list for admissions.
Evaluation based on Collaborative Testing, Student Portfolio and Performance Tests might also be helpful.

In the nutshell, we appreciate and encourage anything that can evaluate the students without requiring their physical presence to the crowded exam centre.