As the second wave of pandemic hits India, holding the CBSE class 10 and 12 exams was a serious topic for discussion in recent days. Several opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi & Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and even film stars like Sonu Sood opposed the move of Centre to hold the board exams, amid rising cases of COVID-19.
Facing mass oppose from the student community, the Ministry of Education on Wednesday, April 14, after consulting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, decided to cancel the CBSE class 10 exams, while the Class 12 exams will be conducted later on, after reviewing the situation on June 1, 2021.
The Union Education Minister Dr. Ramesh Pokhriya Nishank took his twitter handle to share the news. He said, “Today Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji chaired a high-level meeting to review the examinations to be held at various levels in view of the developing Corona situation.”
Today Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji chaired a high-level meeting to review the examinations to be held at various levels in view of the developing Corona situation.
— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) April 14, 2021
Nishank further tweeted, “Honourable Prime Minister reiterated that the well-being of the students has to be the top priority for the Government. He also stated that the Centre would keep in mind the best interests of the students and ensure that their health is taken care of at the same time their academic interests are not harmed.”
However, the evaluation process for CBSE Class 10 students is not clear yet. Education Minister Nishank in his series of tweets said, “The results of Class X Board 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.”
Here are the reactions of some students who spoke to Business Upturn over the decision taken by the Education Ministry:
Bharat, a student of KV JNU Campus, New Delhi , who was about to give his Class 10 board exams praised the move of government to cancel the Class 10 exams. He told– “Canceling the board exam is a good decision taken by the government at this stage because we all know how rapidly the cases are increasing and health should always be our first priority. Also, this is the first time when students studied in online mode, so they don’t want to give offline exams.”
Sanskriti Bhardwaj, a Class 12 student of Rose Public School, Darbhanga, Bihar, looks unhappy and wants government to cancel the Class 12 exams as well– “The students of class 10 can be infected, but students of class 12 are born with an iron man suit? I guess this is what our government thinks of us. The pandemic is making the situation worse as students haven’t been vaccinated yet and it may be possible for exam centres to become Covid-19 hotspots. I along with several others like me, demand the cancellation of board exams for class 12.
Shobhiet Girotra, another student of Class 12 of Hans Raj Model School, New Delhi demands cancellation of CBSE class 12 exams– “As far as my opinions are concerned, CBSE should cancel all the exams and some other method of assessment should be followed because India has recorded over 1.8 lakh new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. The government has cancelled class 10 exams but postponed the class 12 exams, as if class 12 is immune to the virus.”
On the other side, some students are looking in favour of conducting board exams and are also praising the government’s move of postponing class 12 exams amid rising COVID-19 cases. Suhani Daruka, a student of DPS Vasant Kunj, New Delhi said– “I think that postponement was the right decision, considering our entire college admission process also relies on these marks. Internal assessment in my opinion does not make sense since it would result in a lot of disparity in terms of marks.”
Saishaa Sood, another student of DPS Vasant Kunj, New Delhi said– “I am very happy with the postponement. The previous schedule was super hectic for students who were also planning to give JEE, since the dates were extremely close. Now we can study for JEE and still have enough time to prepare for boards afterwards.”
Tia Garg, another student of DPS Vasant Kunj, New Delhi said– “I believe that the decision of postponement of exams is a right one. The health and safety of all students and staffs should always be prioritised. However, complete cancellation without any alternate admission process to college would just lead to more confusion and panic.”
