CBSE schools in a fix over re-examinations

CHENNAI:CBSE Schools in the city are facing the herculean task of summoning students back for special classes for the forthcoming Math and Economics re-examinations of Class 10 and Class 12 respectively. However, the dates of the re-examinations are yet to be officially announced.S Namasivayam, principal, Maharishi Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, said that once the academic year begins on April 4, slow learners might be asked to attend special classes again.

Calling the question paper leak an “embarrassment”, he said, “Although it might be an inconvenience for Class 10 students to cut short their holidays, we have to adhere to the rules of establishment.”
A private school in Virugambakkam has already started reaching out to slow learners, according to a teacher. The task of recalling students is a bigger challenge when it comes to international schools like St Johns Residential School, where some of the Class 10 students have already left for their homes abroad.
“It is the responsibility of the school to conduct special classes but the classes won’t be compulsory. Steps are underway to organise these classes after the completion of class 12 examinations,” said a teacher at the school.

However, schools such as SBIOA say that they will recall students only after the re-examination dates are announced. While students are fretting over re-writing the exams, the move will also have repercussions for the teaching fraternity.As uncertainty looms over the dates of the re-examinations and the corrections, teachers fear they might have to forego a part of their vacation.

“With common exams for class 11 this year, already our vacation period has been reduced. We used to finish corrections by mid-April. This year we don’t know whether we will have a vacation,” said M Ayyappasamy, a physics teacher from Puducherry, who had to convince his family to cancel their vacation plans.

Parents too are under stress, altering plans and waiting for further developments. Sandeep Kothari, whose daughter is to reappear for the Economics examination, said his plans “had gone for a toss”.“I was supposed to vacate my house on April 1 and move to Hyderabad but now I have to extend my lease period until the exams are done. The school has not mentioned anything about special class but asked us to keep the hall ticket safe.”

Paper leak shatters faith in system, says Stalin

Chennai: DMK working president MK Stalin on Thursday rued that the leak of question paper for CBSE examinations ‘shattered’ the ‘collective faith’ in the national education system. It was another example of the pitfalls of centralised education. Re-examination was nothing less than ‘injustice’ for 28 lakh students and their parents, he said in a tweet. He wanted the Prime Minister and the Minister for Human Resources Development to take steps to punish the culprits.