BENGALURU : Parents of ICSE Board Class 10 students are in a quandary after the board put off its decision to hold examinations from May 4. Parents told The New Indian Express that their wards are at a disadvantage as compared to CBSE students, whose admissions to Class 11 have already begun.
The students are facing a plethora of problems, the parents said. They have had a long year due to the pandemic and extending it further because of exams is unfair, said a parent, Vijay Iyer.
Iyer wrote to the CISCE Board seeking the criteria to assess students if written exams are not held. But he is yet to get a response.
He said the students should know the alternative criteria of marking and their score before deciding to take an examination, not the other way around. Several students have taken to social media platforms to raise concerns. “Most CBSE students will start from the last week of April to first week of May, but our beloved ICSE is telling us to wait till June. It means we will lag behind in Class 11, and will find it difficult to take admission in CBSE schools,” said a student.
Another student said his school is taking an improvement examination on a short notice of three days, so that if the council seeks pre-board marks to decide on, they would be ready. President of Voice of Parents, M Shakeel, told TNIE that a clarity in the marking system would be beneficial, and students want to write the exam because of the way the academic year has unfolded. For instance, he said, CBSE students are accustomed to multiple choice question formats, and performed well in exams. But the same format, apt or online assessments, does not work for ICSE students, who perform well in descriptive answers.
“ICSE students have not fared well due to the different format, if they are counted for entry to class 11. Additionally, the academic fraternity is frowning upon the marks obtained by the 2021 batch, because unless it’s a written exam, they claim not to know the actual marks gained. Postponing exams is not a solution. The board needs to spell out the criteria, and if exams are delayed, ICSE students will have a three-month setback compared to CBSE who will start classes on April 26,” he added.