Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): ‘Thodi khushi, thoda gam’. This is how the students in the city reacted to cancellation of class 12 board exams.
In less than 24 hours of Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing cancellation of CBSE class 12 exams, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan too declared that MP Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) will not hold the examinations for class 12 this year. The decision has been taken in view of the second wave of Covid-19.
Free Press asked class 12 students of schools affiliated to the CBSE and the MPBSE as to what they feel about the decision. Almost all of them agreed that the safety of students is more important.
Chanchal Verma is feeling odd. She regrets that her hard work has gone waste. “I was fully prepared for the exams. Now, there would be no proof that I had covered the syllabus thoroughly,” she says. Jay Mauraya is happy that the uncertainty has ended and things have become clear. “I can now focus on preparing for JEE,” he says.
Shreyansh Bankey says marks to be given to students would depend on the teachers. “It would be their perception that would decide our marks. Had the exams been held, the students would have got a chance to improve their performance,” he says.
Sanchita Shivede feels that the exams should have been held. “Cancellation is no solution. It would affect our future. They could have held online exams of main subjects,” she says. Sanchita says students may face problems while trying to look for jobs.
Shivam Chandra said CBSE could have organised the examinations in July-August. The government has given the option that students can appear in the examination whenever it is held in the future. But this is meaningless as we cannot wait for months, he said. He is happy that the exam has been cancelled but also sad because his career may suffer.
Babli Sharma is disappointed because she was preparing to get a position in the merit list. “I had worked very hard. But what can we do? The government has the right to decide and it has decided,” she says.
Prerna Pathak does not know on what basis they would get admissions in colleges. Milan Sahu is of the opinion that the government could have vaccinated all the students of class 12 in a month or two and then conducted the exams.
Timely decision
The government has taken a very timely and wise decision. Holding the examinations would have meant putting lakhs of students at risk, especially when the experts are warning of a third wave of Covid-19, which will affect children. This decision has saved lives. I am sure a very objective and appropriate formula will be formulated for awarding marks to the students. As for college admissions, students have to take competitive examinations like JEE, NEET and CLAT to enter institutions of higher learning. So, the cancellation won’t make much of a difference.
- B N Trishal, educationist
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Best decision
I welcome the decision. It is the best in the given situation. The safety and security of the students is important. If the students are healthy, they would be able to take competitive examinations in the future and achieve their career objectives.
- Rajni Jain, parent
