Finally, a much-awaited decision in the favour of students was announced as the Prime Minister (PM) of India Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 12 examinations have been cancelled this year. This decision was taken in the interest of students considering the Covid-19 pandemic situation.
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister chaired a high-level review meeting regarding the CBSE Class 12 board exams. After a presentation on the wide and extensive consultations held so far and views received from all stakeholders, including state governments, it was decided that Class 12 board exams would not be held this year.
The Prime Minister said, "The decision on Class 12 CBSE exams has been taken in the interest of students. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the academic calendar and the issue of board exams has been causing immense anxiety among students, parents and teachers, which must be put to an end. Students should not be forced to appear for exams in such a stressful situation. Health and safety of students is of utmost importance and there would be no compromise on this aspect."
Following the announcement, the CBSE released a notification stating, "Class 12 assessment will be made as per a well-defined objective criteria in a time-bound manner. For any student who is not satisfied with the assessment, an option to appear in the examinations would be provided by CBSE as and when the situation becomes conducive."
State governments that were awaiting the Centre's decision on the CBSE Class 12 exams are expected to follow suit for their own state board exams. Varsha Gaikwad, school education minister of Maharashtra, said, "We welcome the decision of the Centre to cancel CBSE Class 12 board exams. We have stressed on the need for a 'uniform assessment model' across the country. The decision regarding state board Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) Class 12 exams will be taken soon keeping the health and safety of students in mind."
It is expected that the final CBSE Class 12 marks could be calculated on the basis of performance in internals and past three-year performance alike last year. A final decision, however, is awaited. Initially, CBSE Class 12 exams were scheduled to be held from May 4 to June 14, 2021. On April 14, the CBSE postponed the Class 12 exams due to surge in COVID-19 cases and cancelled Class 10 exams.
Following the CBSE Class 12 board exam cancellation, the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) announced the cancellation of Class 12 Indian School Certificate (ISC) board examinations. Initially, the ISC Class 12 exams were scheduled to be held from May 4 to June 18, 2021. But on April 16, the CISCE deferred the exams due to Covid-19 surge.
The CISCE said ISC Class 12 exam results will be processed on a mechanism which would also include the internal examinations conducted by schools. Students who are not satisfied will be given the option to take the exam at a later date, when the situation is conducive to conduct the same.
