Is board exam OK in February?

KOCHI/KOZHIKODE/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is now mulling advancing the annual Class X and XII board exams to February from March, to bring in more quality in valuation and declare results earlier. A final decision in this regard is awaited after stakeholder consultation.  Authorities of schools in Kerala view this with a bit of caution while agreeing that there are advantages also.

Kerala CBSE School Management Association president T P M Ibrahim Khan said that any decision to advance the exam will benefit the higher studies prospects of Class XII students as they can apply for a lot of courses outside and pick one carefully. “However, we are already running short of the stipulated 200 working days due to hartals and other planned and unplanned holidays. We can’t complete even 180 working days. So the shorter span builds up pressure on students and teachers. Moreover from this year onwards, the State Government, the Kerala State Commission For Protection Of Child Rights, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission all are insisting that the vacation classes should be done away with due to the heat. So both teachers and students will be under stress to complete portion and produce better results. Teachers have to take care of weaker students also,” said Mr Ibrahim Khan.

Mr Khan said that political parties would be doing a service to the nation of if they exempt schools from the hartals like milk and other essential services. “In fact there is no unbearable heat or cold in the state and hence official bodies should sit together and revisit their decision to impose restrictions on vacation classes,” he said. Global Public School, Thiruvaniyoor, Ernakulam, principal Ms Indu Panicker said that the decision is welcome in the case of Class X while inconveniences outweigh conveniences in the case of Class XII.

“The portion of Class X is easier to deal with while for Class XII this would be difficult and then conduct model examination. The ban on summer class, hartals and holidays are the other impediments. If the theory exams are to be held in February, then we will have to conduct the practical exams prior to that. However, students can focus on entrance examinations if the board exam gets over in February,” said Ms Indu Panicker.

President Sahodaya School Complex Malappuram region M Abdul Nazar welcomed the move. “Earlier to root out the difficulties of students and parents Sahodaya had given petition to the CBSE authorities many times to publish the results earlier as students who seek higher studies are neglected by the State Government,” he said. One of the members of Sahodaya School Complex, Kasargod, and Thenbeehul Islam Central School, Vidyanagar  principal Jacob Sebastian, said: “The move is in the right direction, as results can be declared earlier. When the CBSE students after their Class X have to compete with the State Syllabus students for the admission to higher secondary, they face a lot of issues due to the delay in the publication of results. Schools will face difficulties this year if it is implemented this year but from next year, they can plan properly,” he added.

Haridas P, Kozhikode district Sahodaya School Complex executive member, also supported it. The Class XII students face a lot of difficulties now during their admissions to higher studies. The results of CBSE exams were declared after the Calicut University, Kannur and Kerala University announced their online registration. Without the marks, our students were not able to apply for these courses along with the State syllabus students. Many schools in Thiruvananthapuram district are against the move to introduce CBSE class X and XII examinations in February.

Fr.Mathews Chackalackal, Principal Christ Nagar Senior Secondary school, Thiruvallam, said that schools would find it difficult to get the required number of working days if the examinations are conducted in February. The students normally start serious learning only by December, Fr Chackalackal said. Especially in a state like Kerala, where a number of days are lost due to various reasons, it would create more pressure on students which was against the new concept of education. “The new concept is that the learning should not be a burden for the students,” Fr Chackalackal said. The move is to ensure that CBSE results are announced on time. “Unlike other syllabuses CBSE have many subjects and was not restricted to the six or seven subjects we are familiar with. The examinations needed more time to complete as a result. Moreover, the CBSE also conducts many other examinations other than Class X and XII examinations,” Fr Chackalackal pointed out Saraswathi Vidyalaya, Thiruvananthapuram, chairman G Rajamohan said that it was very difficult to get the required number of working days in the present circumstances due to hartals and other holidays. Hence, it would not be ideal to conduct the examinations in February this time. “Such a change can be considered in the next academic year but proper planning should go into it,” Mr Rajamohan said.