A Class XII Science student of an ICSE school in the city has only one paper pending in this year’s board examinations. Just when the uncertainty over the dates for the remaining examinations seemed to be over, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) told students they must choose between appearing for the examinations or be graded according to an alternative assessment.
The student says the option given by the council does not sit well with her. It must be uniform – either cancelling the examinations or going ahead with it – for all students.
She raises concerns about transparency if pre-board or internal assessment marks awarded by schools are factored in. “How will the board ensure that all schools are playing fair,” she asks.
Better prepared
Many students also looked to the board examinations to do better than the pre-boards. The long gap between the examinations will have helped them prepare better, she points out.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) too has been asked by the Supreme Court to make a choice.
A CBSE Class XII student of a city school said she was hoping to do well in Computer Science to make up for the tough Physics paper, but that would not be possible if the exams were cancelled.
Many students were unlikely to be happy about evaluation based on the pre-boards because they either skipped it or took it lightly, keen to focus on the boards.
However, she did not think that exams would be possible going by accounts from friends in other places in the country, she said.
Disadvantageous
The Principal of an ISC school says conducting the examinations in Kerala would not be a huge problem, but the CISCE would have to consider the situation in other States too.
He feared the grading plan could be disadvantageous as schools went in for strict evaluation during the pre-boards so that children could get their act together. It had also been his experience that students tend to score more during the boards.
A CBSE school Principal was also of the opinion that the State could pull off the examinations without any hitches. The State government, he pointed out, had conducted the examinations for State school students smoothly with all safety precautions in place.
Fr. George Mathew Karoor, CISCE member, said the assessment option, in case students did not want to sit for the examinations, would be made public. Students need not panic as the council would keep their interests in mind.
The council, he said, was working on a system that would held them understand a child’s performance not solely based on written marks. The final decision, though, rested with the court, he pointed out.
