CHENNAI/MADURAI: The decision to cancel CBSE Class 12 public exams came as a shocker to students, parents, and even many school authorities. As Tamil Nadu mulls over the possibility of cancelling the State Board exams, stakeholders remain divided on the matter. However, everyone is on the same page on quickly coming up with a meaningful way to evaluate students to aid applying for higher education.
The Centre on Tuesday cancelled the CBSE Class 12 public exams. Following this, it is expected that some combination of internal assessments conducted by the schools will be used as a yardstick to grade students. However, if Tamil Nadu government cancels the State Board exams, it cannot rely on internal assessment scores as many schools did not have the capacity to conduct online tests for students during the lockdown.
Lack of internal assessments
The majority of CBSE and affluent private State Board schools conducted quarterly, half yearly, and revision exams online in addition to the cumulative assessment of class tests. These assessments can be used to ultimately derive a final grade. However, many State Board schools did not conduct any test or were able to hold only one or two revision exams when schools were opened briefly earlier this year.
“Many CBSE schools had already conducted multiple online tests. However, this is not true of State Board schools,” said KR Nandhakumar, head of the Tamil Nadu Matriculation, Higher Secondary and CBSE Schools Association, adding that the State government may not have much choice but to conduct an exam, at least for government school students.
R Visalakshi, the head of the Tamil Nadu Private Schools Association, said, “Board exams to go on or not, the government should tell us soon how students will be evaluated.” She said passing all students in Class 12 was not a viable solution as it will cause chaos while applying for higher education. “Attendance for online classes was not compulsory; meaning, exams were not compulsory. Some children, therefore, did not write any test. How is it their fault when everything was optional to begin with?” she questioned.
Students who plan to apply for higher education in professional courses are in favour of conducting public exams while others do not want to risk exposure to Covid-19. Even teachers are divided. PK Ilamaran, head of Tamil Nadu Teachers Association (TNTA) said government should prioritise the safety and welfare of students in the wake of the pandemic and cancel the public exams. He, however, said that the State should consult stakeholders on evaluation procedures.
The competitive exam conundrum
On the other hand, S Arumainathan, president of the Tamil Nadu Parents Teachers Association, told Express that many schools, particularly State government schools, did not conduct any serious internal assessments. “If they cancel State board public exams without cancelling competitive exams like JEE and NEET, students will be in a fix.
They will have to rush to coaching classes to crack these exams,” he said. MDMK leader Vaiko also opined that the situation will increase the importance of common entrance exams like NEET, paving way for the union government to implement the National Education Policy silently. “The decision of cancelling the board exams and not the competitive exams has been made without any consultation. Tamil Nadu students will be at disadvantage as they will not have enough experience to face competitive exams,” said KPO Suresh, leader of the Tamil Nadu Post Graduate Teachers Association.
“The DMK needs to pass a resolution in the Assembly, inform to the union government and proceed to Supreme Court’s to get concurrence. All these must be done before the National Testing Agency (NTA) begins to invite applications for NEET,” said Suresh.
State Platform for Common School System (SPCSS) Tamil Nadu General Secretary P B Prince Gajendra Babu said, “The Union government’s decision is not based on the interest of the students. In a pandemic situation, if CBSE conducts exam, it might affect the students, so the exams are cancelled, but the same students, when they write National Eligibility Test for admission into colleges, will they not be affected? We are unable to understand the logic here.
In the States where the New Education Policy (NEP) is already in effect, there will be All India Exam by NTA and only its score will be considered by colleges for admission and not the Class 12 board exam score. Whether you conduct the exam or not, it becomes irrelevant. States need not follow CBSE and depending on the their condition, State Board Class 12 exams should be conducted at a later date by giving timetable well in advance,” he said.