- The decision by the Union Education Ministry to cancel Central Board of Secondary Education Class X Board exams and postponement without any clarity on the scheduled date for conducting class XII Board exams will evoke mixed reactions from all the stakeholders associated with the matter. Millions of students, parents, schools, administrators, and others connected with the crucial examinations are bound to feel differently as each one of them will have unique perspectives. While most of the class X students would be heaving a huge sigh of relief, there will be equally aghast studious students who would have prepared assiduously anticipating offline exams to go ahead. However, the decision to cancel class X exams appears judicious prima facie.
PC: Ankita Singh
- As the bewilderingly finicky nature of the virus whose infectiousness keeps scaling newer scales by the day, clarion calls for cancelling the class X exams were growing louder from all quarters. Lakhs of students and parents started an online campaign to pile pressure on the government to act decisively. With the alarming rise of confirmed infection rates breaching the six-figure mark quite regularly, there was little left for the government authorities to decide other than resorting to cancelling the exams. In hindsight, the Union Education Ministry could have possibly decided on the holding of exams at least a few weeks earlier for easing the anxieties of students and parents.
- On the other hand, the decision to postpone the class XII Board exams to a later date makes imminent sense as this grade is considered as a concrete stepping stone to not only get into professional courses but also holding a significant stake in shaping the future of the students as also that of the country in equal measure. Though there were growing calls for cancelling class XII exams too from the parties involved, the government has rightly decided to postpone the offline examinations. The predicament of the authorities is palpable as they are made to undertake a tightrope walk considering the criticality of health and safety aspects of millions of students.
PC: KRITI KOHLI
- However, the decision leaves a door for some introspection amid circumspect situations as class XII students would be left with a feeling of uncertainty not knowing when the exams would be eventually conducted. Announcing tentative dates would have considerably eased the anxiety levels of the students as well as parents allowing the school authorities to also leave no stone unturned in preparing for the smooth conduct of the examination by diligently observing all mandated safety and health protocols. Postponement without announcing dates tantamount to leaving all the stakeholders in an uncertain limbo.
- As the Prime Minister keeps exhorting people about the virtues of Dawai Bhi, Kadai Bhi (medicine as well as discipline), the examinations including class X could have been conducted by strict adherence to time-tested protocols. The Karnataka State Education Board did successfully carry out Board exams during the first peak without any major hick. The template so set could have been replicated by the CBSE as well. Hopefully, XII grades will soon get to know the exam dates helping them to prepare in a conducive atmosphere bereft of uncertainty.
