In the wake ofthe second wave of coronavirus pandemic, the Central Board of SecondaryEducation (CBSE) on Tuesday decided to call off the class 12th boardexams of 2021.
The decision tocancel the exams was taken in the high-powered meeting chaired by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, to review all the possible methods of conducting exams.
However, now,the Centre and CBSE has put a full stop to the confusion and announced “thisyear Class 12 Board Exams will not take place as students’ safety is ourprimary concern.”
On one hand, the cancellation of Class 12th Board Exams 2021 has come as a sigh of relief for the students and parents perhaps, top educationists are worried as the future of the students could be at stake.
In lieu to obtain answers to thequestions that might create suspicion in the students’ minds, True Scoop tookan initiative to contact prominent educational leader including Mrs. Rashmi Vij,Principal, Police DAV School, Jalandhar, among others.
In an exclusive interview with theseexperts, we have tried to pitch the answers related to the assessment of Class12th board exams and their impact on the competitive exams.
Q1. How will the assessment be done forthe canceled exams?
Ans: According to Mrs. Vij, “Justlike Class 10th assessment, Class 12th assessment can be done the same way ormaybe result can be on the basis of last three years grades too.”
According to another expert, “Due to the havoc, the secondwave of pandemic wreaked, a few of the practical exams are yet to be completed.For the assessment, the schools would abide by the CBSE guidelines.”
Q2. Class 12th board exams are consideredpivotal in shaping the student’s career path. How do you see its cancellationin relation to their future goals?
Ans. “This is definitely not fair with the brightstudents who have been working really hard for their boards as it is evidentthat a student mostly attains 10% higher score than the 11th class result ortheir pre-boards as they work harder for the board exams,” said Mrs. Vij.
“It comes as a major setback for the students. If the onlinestudy can be there, why cannot online exams? Wouldn’t it be unfair for them whohave studied seriously during their online classes,” said another expert.
Q3. Will the cancellation of exams have an impact oncompetitive exams?
Ans. As per Mrs. Vij, “It is time that the highereducational institutes must cope with it in a way that it doesn’t affectanyone’s career amidst the pandemic. As 12th class scores also havea fair share in order to get enrolled in a renowned institute, this time thestudents should only be evaluated on the basis of entrance exams.”
“The decision will definitely have an impact on thecompetitive cum entrance exams, it might be dicey for the students as the Class12th grades are the base to embark on the career,” another expertsaid.
Meanwhile, on the results,PM Modi said, “it be prepared on the basis of well-defined criteria, in a fairand time-bound manner.”
According to the sources, the resultswill be prepared on the basis of the internal assessment of class 9th, 10th, and 11th. However, so far, no formula or aparticular methodology has been revealed by the Ministry to calibrate theresults.