The optional exams for students seeking improvement of marks in their Class 12 examinations will be held from September 22 to 29 along with the compartment exams for classes 10 and 12, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) said on Friday.
The board said that examinees will carry hand sanitisers and wear face masks in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The compartment examination for the two classes will begin from September 22 and will conclude on September 29. All candidates will carry their own hand sanitiser in transparent bottles and (their own) water bottles, and will be required to cover their mouth and nose with mask or cloth," CBSE Exam Controller Sanyam Bhardwaj said in an official notification detailing the exam schedule.
Earlier in the day, the CBSE opposed in the Supreme Court a plea seeking postponement of compartment exams for Class 12 scheduled this month, saying all "necessary" safety measures for students are being taken in view of COVID-19 pandemic.
The plea challenged the CBSE's decision to hold compartment examinations for Class 12 on the ground that it would be detrimental to the health of the examinees in view of rising COVID-19 cases.
The apex court will hear the case on September 10.
"Optional examination for class 12 students whose result has been declared based on the assessment scheme and wish to improve their performance, will also be conducted with the compartment examination for both class 10 and 12 students. The marks obtained by a candidate in these optional examinations will be treated as final for those who have opted to take these examinations," Bhardwaj said.
The results of the board exams, which were cancelled in view of the pandemic, were announced in July on the basis of an alternative assessment scheme.
Girls outshone boys by nearly six percentage points in the CBSE class 12 examination results. The overall pass percentage increased by 5.38 points this year. While 83.40 per cent students cleared the exam last year, 88.78 per cent students cleared it this year.
Marks were awarded on the basis of marks scored by a student in his or her best performing subjects, according to the four-pointer assessment scheme.
Students were divided into four categories.
The first had students who sat in tests for all their subjects; their results have been declared on the basis of their performance in all the papers.
Students in the second category had appeared for more than three subjects. They have been awarded marks for subjects they did not appear for based on the average of the marks obtained by them in the three best performing subjects.
The board identified a third category of students who appeared in only three subjects. For them, the average of marks obtained in the two best performing subjects has been awarded in the subjects whose examinations were not conducted.
The students in the fourth category were mainly from the February riot-affected northeast Delhi region, where exams had to be postponed. The results of these students have been declared on the basis of their performance in the subjects they took the test for, besides their performance in internal or practical project assessment.
The board also decided against announcing a merit list this year in view of the exceptional circumstances.
The number of students scoring over 95 per cent in class 12 exam this year is more than double the 2019 figure of 17,693, the CBSE said.
This year, when the examinations were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the figure more than doubled, with 38,686 students scoring above 95 per cent.
Similarly, the number of students who scored above 90 per cent also increased from about 94,000 students in 2019 to almost 1.6 lakh this year, it said.
