Bhopal: Students of Class 10 in the city are relieved that their examinations have been cancelled. But they are worried about their future. They say that they have no option but to accept the decision of the MP Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) regarding the norms for awarding marks to them. Both the boards have announced that the marks will be based on the scores of the students in the internal assessments, six-monthly, pre-board, mid-term and other examinations and the overall performance of the students of the school concerned over the past three years.
The CBSE had announced cancellation of the Class 10 (High School) examinations on April 15, while the Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) took the same decision on May 14. The students say that it is good that the uncertainty has ended and the new session can now begin. Normally, the new session of Class 11 would have begun on April 1. A few of them, especially those who had worked hard for their board examinations, are a bit disappointed that they will not be able to score high marks.
Priyanshi Singh, who studies in a school affiliated to the MPBSE, said the marks of the students would now depend on the schools rather than on their performance in the exam. “The first terminal and pre-board examinations were open-book, while the pattern of the six-monthly examination was very different. So, the marks obtained in these examinations aren’t comparable,” she said. “The decision is good for the students who hadn’t made preparations for the examination, while it’s bad for those who’d worked hard,” said Priyanshi.
Khushi Verma, a student of a CBSE school, said they had no option but to accept the decision. “It’s better than giving a general promotion,” she said. Khushi said that her classes were held online and she could not understand much of what was taught. “I don’t know whether they’ll be awarding internal assessment marks on the basis of attendance and performance in virtual classes, too. Everyone would get average marks and the marksheets wouldn’t reflect the aptitude and the hard work of the students,” she added.
Ajay Vishwakarma of an MPBSE school has no complaints and is happy that, at least now, the new session will begin and he will be promoted to Class 11.
Janhvi Sanghvi of the same school feels that life is more important than anything else. “Those who are dissatisfied with their marks can always appear in the examinations whenever they’re held,” she says.
Sanchit Singh of a CBSE school is happy because he has already been assured by his school that he will get the PCM (Physics, Chemistry, Maths) stream on the basis of his pre-board exam results. “In fact, my Class 11 online classes have already begun. I don’t know how many marks I’ll get in Class 10. But it hardly matters,” he said.
Harsh, who studies in a CBSE school, says the decision makes no difference to him. He wants to join the Commerce stream which, he says, he will get anyway. All is well for him.
'Two sets of students'
“The students who focus on studies only when the examinations are close at hand may be disappointed, but those who consistently work hard during the whole year should have no reason to complain,” said Rajesh Sharma, master trainer, CBSE.
‘There’s no option, at all’
“There’s no option. One thing is very clear that examinations simply can’t be held with the pandemic showing no signs of weakening. No matter what formula is adopted to award marks, some students are going to lose and some are going to gain,” said Sudhakar Parashar, principal, Government Subhash Higher Secondary School for Excellence, Bhopal.
