Class 12 board exams: Sisodia interacts with principals, students ahead of meet

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday held interactions with school principals, teachers and students to deliberate on options that can be explored by the central government to arrive at a decision regarding pending Class 12 board exams.

The two virtual interactions by Sisodia came a day before the Ministry of Education’s crucial meeting on Sunday to decide on fate of board exams which were postponed in view of the second wave of COVID-19.

“The consensus that emerged from all the meetings with these key stakeholders was that in the absence of vaccines to children, conducting any kind of examinations will only make our students and teachers more vulnerable to the virus. With the surge of COVID-19 cases, teachers and principals stated that the most appropriate decision about Class 12 board exams would be to completely cancel them,” a senior government official said.

“The school principals were of the opinion that obsession with examination will not serve any purpose and will only create more problems for students. Also almost all families have suffered some form of Covid-related trauma and taking any kind of exams at this stage would just add to the already challenging situation.

“Hence, relaying the sentiment of many students and parents across the nation, all the stakeholders were of the opinion that safety and security in this time of crisis is of utmost importance,” the official added.

Sisodia, who is also Delhi’s Education Minister, took the feedback of the students and teachers about possible options during the interactions.

Alternative assessment options, including taking into account marks of Class 10 and pre-board exams and internal exams, were among the suggestions received during the interactions.

The Ministry of Education has invited suggestions from various stakeholders that will be taken up at the meeting scheduled to be chaired by Union Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday.

Union ministers Smriti Irani and Prakash Javadekar besides Education ministers and secretaries from all states and union territories are also expected to attend the meeting.

The Central Board of Secondary Education had on April 14 announced the cancellation of Class 10 exams and postponement of Class 12 exams in view of the surge in COVID-19 cases. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The exams, which are usually conducted in February-March every year, were scheduled to be held from May 4.

The CBSE had announced that a decision on the Class 12 board exams will be taken on or after June 1.