THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amit, who has appeared for the CBSE Class XII examination in the Commerce stream this year, has been on edge over the past three months. After postponement of the examinations in March in the wake of the Covid-19 threat, the lack of clarity over the remaining exams is what keeps Amit and hundreds of other students on tenterhooks.
Even though CBSE has decided to cancel the remaining Class X and XII board exams, its decision to also provide an option to Class XII candidates to appear for the pending exams at a “later stage”, has left a section of students like Amit confused. However, if the pending exams were totally scrapped, CBSE will take into account marks of “past three exams” to assess the candidates for those subjects. A final decision on the matter is expected on Friday.
The examinations of over 10 subjects are pending at the all-India level for Class XII. The major subjects among them are: Computer Science, Business Studies, Geography and Sociology. Students in the Science stream can heave a sigh of relief as Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology exams were conducted before the schools were shut down.
Most of the parents have welcomed complete scrapping of the remaining examinations. “Doing away with the remaining examinations means faster declaration of results so that students who apply for various undergraduate courses in the state do not stand to lose due to the delay,” said Vinu Joseph, a parent.
However, not all seem to agree. “If the marks of the terminal examinations are taken into account, then many students may stand to lose.
Most of them would not have taken the terminal examinations seriously and may hence be assessed poorly,” said Sudha PK whose son’s Computer Science exam is pending. “The safety of students is of paramount importance due to the prevailing Covid situation. Any decision taken by CBSE would be in the best interests of students. Schools in the state are ready with the assessment records of past examinations in case CBSE demands it,” said Indira Rajan, chief patron, Council of CBSE Schools, Kerala.