CBSE Class X Exam Cancellation Decision Draws Mixed Responses

New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has cancelled Class X Board exams for the academic year 2021-22 according to the latest decision taken by the Union government in view of rising COVID-19 cases in the country.

Less than a month for the CBSE board exams to start, the government’s announcement “the board exams for Class 10 to be held from May 4 to June 14 are hereby cancelled”, has earned mixed responses from Class X students.

The evaluation of the class X students will now be done on the basis of some “objective criterion”, which is still not developed by the CBSE. “In case a candidate is not satisfied with the marks allocated based on this criterion, he or she will be allowed to write the exam as and when the spread of coronavirus is under control,” said the Ministry of Education.

Government’s call to cancel exams disappointed several class X students. Class X students in Uttar Pradesh-based Kendriya Vidyalaya are terming the decision as “unfair” as they had been preparing for board exams and not internal assessment.

“We prepared hard for the CBSE Board exams. If we had to be assessed on internal assessment, it would not be fair. We prepared for the board exams, not internal assessment,” Class 10 student, Mayank Kumar was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Another student Saumya Sharma echoed a similar view. “The result must not be prepared on the basis of internal assessment and pre-board exams,” he said.

A few students even said that the government must adopt the same approach for both Class X and Class XII board exams. “According to me they should take the same steps for class X as taken for class XII. They should first extend the dates of exam and then should cancel them if the conditions become worse,” Class X student Utkarsh Gangwar said.

Also, the objective criterion that will be adopted by the government seems to have confused many. “The decision taken by the government is very good. But I’m also sad because I’ve worked hard this whole year to achieve good marks. And I’m also confused about the criteria on which the marks will be awarded,” another student Chhaya Mishra was quoted as saying by the web portal.

However, there were appreciations too for the government for taking this step in view of the larger interests. “We were scared to appear for the board exams during COVID-19 pandemic and so the decision taken by the government to cancel the board exams is correct but all our hard work will be wasted. We are disappointed with this and are concerned about our future studies,” Class X student, Srishti Sharma said.

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