CBSE Board Exam 2021 Cancellation: Education Ministry likely to announce dates soon; 3 proposals wait for PMO’s approval

A decision on impending Board Exams for Class 12 has become a topic of ambiguity. Students and parents are worried about their careers and waiting for a resolution.  The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has been against conducting exams offline fearing the lives of the students, has filed a petition in the Supreme Court which will be heard on June 3, deciding the fate of these students. The Centre has asked for two days to decide on the matter.  

Meanwhile, the ministry of education has prepared a draft, proposing ways in which these exams can be conducted and is only looking for a green signal from the PMO. 

Sources in the ministry have said that the exams are planned to be conducted between July 24 and August 15 and that these proposals have been prepared in consultation with the states. The proposed draft for the examination taken after a thorough deliberation will be placed before the Central Government today. PMO will make a decision based on the proposed draft and has sought an extension, which will be heard on June 3. 

The 3 proposals

First proposal: Conduct exams for only 3 major subjects of Science, Commerce and Arts and the marking can be done based on the main subjects for the rest of the subjects. 

Second proposal: 30 minutes for each paper with objective type questions. 

Third proposal: If the Covid situation doesn’t improve further, an internal assessment for class 9th, 10th and 11th will be conducted and after this, results for 12th boards will be released. 

Also Read: FICCI in favor of canceling 12th board exams due to Covid crisis

Status of the examination:

•  In an intervention PIL filed by the Youth Bar Association, representing the students appearing for the board exams through advocate Tanvi Dubey have opposed the board's decision to conduct the examination offline, they have sought cancellation of the examination
•  Advocate Mamta Sharma had also filed a petition in the Supreme Court to cancel the examination on behalf of the children, which was heard on May 28 and 31. The court mentioned has asked for a strong reason for conducting the exams differently from last year. 
•  Justice Khanwilkar said that the students had hopes that the examination will be conducted differently from the last year and a method system will be adopted for allotting numbers. On the other hand, the petitioner has expressed hope that a decision will be taken according to the policy of the board last year.
•  Attorney General K.K. Venugopal said that the central government will decide in two days whether the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations will conduct the ICSE 12th examination or not.