Public exams for Class 10 and Class 12 have been cancelled in many states, but not all are celebrating

Sravanthi Challapalli

Coimbatore-based J S Shanthini is a very worried mother. Her son’s Class 10 public examinations, to be conducted by the Tamil Nadu school board have been cancelled. Thanks to the Samacheer Kalvi syllabus introduced in 2019, the new lessons in Physics and Mathematics took some getting used to, says Shanthini. They were more in number and the books too were not available immediately. Her son
could not score very well in the school tests but the teachers reassured them saying there was ample time for revision and things would improve by the time the public exams were held. And then came the lockdown. Moreover, the school, while a good institution, had a strict marking system. The students and parents had set store by the public exams where the marking would be liberal.

Shanthini is now anxious whether her son will get the group he wants in Class 11.

A slew of cancellations
Thanks to COVID-19, several states have cancelled board examinations for Classes Ten and Twelve. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Indian Certificate for Secondary Education (ICSE) have also cancelled the examinations. In some cases, these decisions followed pleas, some in court, by parents, teachers and children’s rights organisations that the examinations should not be held given the spread of the disease. The examination dates/ news for candidates appearing privately have not been announced, either, in some cases.

Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana are some of the states which have cancelled the examinations. In some cases, examinations in only a few subjects had been held by the time the lockdown was declared. The final results will be declared based on the formula set by the various boards. They involve assessing the student based on his/her performance in school tests and the examinations already conducted by the boards.

This move has resulted in mixed emotions or downright upsets for students and parents. Quite a few students would not have paid much attention to internal examinations. The results thus arrived at may be less than satisfactory for them and may prevent them from getting the group of their choice in Class Eleven or the course of their choice after Class Twelve. There are worries about the way in which the final result will be calculated.

Scoring fair and square?
In fact, quite a few parents and students that The Learned Talk spoke to have expressed similar concerns as Shanthini has. Also, the public exams would have tested the students on their performance alone, as there was no scope for favouritism in awarding marks, which often happens in school examinations, they add.

Sriram and Uma, whose daughter Shamita’s Class 10 exams have been cancelled, worry that their method of scoring or grading may turn out to be biased, or worth little more than a gamble. They wonder how a school exam can be equated to a public exam’s scoring method. As it is, she has only now been improving in her studies in Class 10 and her marks in school were just above average. Shamita too says she had worked hard to score better in the final public exams but feels frustrated now that the exams have been cancelled and because the scoring metrics are unclear to her.

In Tamil Nadu, 80 per cent of the marks would be based on students’ performance in quarterly and half yearly exams while 20 per cent would be based on their attendance.

Kanyakumari-based Abina, who was to do her tenth standard board exams in Tamil Nadu this summer, says she would have got better marks in the board exams. “We study well in the last minute, no?” she says, with a laugh. However, she is not unhappy as she has done well enough in her school tests. She is confident of getting her desired group of subjects in Class Eleven. Though the results will be declared only in July, admissions are under way in her school.

Chengalpattu-based Purushothaman and Manjula are worried whether the new scoring system will get him placed in a Biology group in his school. Lokeshwaran, their son, had taken all the examinations and tests very seriously and studied with dedication to score high marks. He is relieved that his efforts for the school examinations will pay off but he is also sure that he would have scored more than the aggregate of marks that will now be calculated to declare the results.

Chennai-based Dr B Shanthini’s daughter’s Tamil exam (CBSE) in Standard Twelve could not be held due to the lockdown. “My daughter too does not take school tests seriously. But as it was only a language exam, we are not too put out. She has done the subject exams well, though,” says her mother, relieved.

As per the CBSE’s scoring system for this situation, for students who have appeared in the examinations in more than three subjects, the average of the marks obtained in the best three performing subjects will be awarded in the subjects for which examinations have not been conducted. For students who have appeared for only three examinations, the average of the marks obtained in the best two performing subjects will be awarded in the subjects for which examinations have not been conducted. There are very few students of Class XII, mainly from Delhi, who have appeared in the examinations in only one or two subjects. Their results will be declared based on their performance in the subjects they took the examination for and their performance in internal/ practical project assessment. These students will also be allowed to appear in the optional examinations conducted by CBSE to improve their performance if they desire to do so. The results of these students will also be declared along with other students.

Rajarajan, parent to a Class 12 student whose exams could not be held fully due to the lockdown
says, “We don’t know what to do, actually. My son is banking on the score in the examinations that CBSE has already conducted. This is a wonderful opportunity to revisit the education system, to give school tests and exams more value,” he says.

With additional inputs from Hema