‘Cancelling Class XII Boards May Affect College Admissions’

Mixed response to CBSE move to scrap exams

‘Cancelling Class XII Boards May Affect College Admissions’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:2.6.2021

The decision to cancel CBSE Class XII board examinations has evoked a mixed response among principals of city schools. Some said the decision will create confusion in admissions to arts and science courses, while others said the situation is not conducive to conduct board exams.

The CBSE has said the Class XII assessment will be made according to well-defined objective criteria in a time-bound manner. The CBSE will provide an option to appear for the examinations to students who are not satisfied with the assessment when the situation becomes conducive.

“The present Covid-19 situation is not conducive to conduct physical mode exams. Now, the important issue is how they will calculate the marks and declare results. The criteria should not affect the career of the students,” said P G Subramanian, principal of Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidhyashram in Kilpauk.

Some principals felt the exams could have been conducted on a regular schedule in March when the Covid-19 cases were very low. “Students were ready to write the exams in March. The cancellation of Class XII exams will create confusion in admissions to colleges. and foreign universities may not accept the all-pass decision,” a principal from a city school said.

Asha Nathan, principal of Chennai Public School in Anna Nagar, said students are disappointed with the cancelling of the exams. “Students are worried about getting admissions to arts and science colleges, which are based on Class XII board exam marks,” she said. However, she also said students’ lives are more important than exams and the government might have taken the decision after getting the broader picture about the pandemic.

R Srinivasa Raghavan, principal of Bala Vidyamandir Senior Secondary School in Adyar, said, “The cancellation might give clarity to colleges on how to go about the admissions. The colleges should come out with new methods for giving admission to undergraduate courses instead of just relying on board exam marks.”

N Vijayan, senior principal of Zion and Alwin Group of Schools, said the CBSE should take an average of three revision tests conducted in schools to award marks instead of taking last three years' exams.

“The schools were aware of the possibility of cancellation of exams. All schools conducted their revision tests fairly. Marks should be awarded based on recent performances instead of previous years performance,” he said.

Educationist P B Prince Gajendrababu urged the state boards not to follow CBSE in cancelling the Class XII board exams. “States need not follow CBSE and depending on the prevailing situation in their states, the board exam could be conducted at a later date by giving a time-table well in advance,” he said.

While all parties agreed that students’ health was paramount, some principals fear that foreign varsities may not accept the all-pass decition. They said the exams could have been conducted on a regular schedule in March when the cases were low