CBSE schools face a ‘practical’ difficulty

Thiruvananthapuram: A section of CBSE schools in the state have expressed concern over the central board’s recent proposal that Class X and XII students should take practical examinations at schools other than the one where they are currently studying.
The management representatives submitted a memorandum in this regard to CBSE on Thursday. “With regard to the reforms of the Central Board of Secondary Education, we are quite appreciative of it in general. But a recent proposal by the board to conduct practical examination away from one’s school is quite appalling. It may kindly be noted that the ‘lab examination’ is at present conducted in one’s own institution. The young boys and girls will be put through untold misery and difficulties if the lab examination venue is changed from the one which is familiar to them. The arrangement of chemicals, equipment, brand of equipment, etc. will be quite different from the one which the students are used to. It is pertinent that the examination is now conducted by external examiners and thus its sanctity and secrecy is maintained,” a memorandum submitted to the board said.
Even for courses such as BSc, MSc, BTech, MTech, senior students appear for the lab examinations at their own centres.
“Even the change of centre for the theory examination introduced a few years ago also is not a student-friendly act. Instead of changing the centre, more invigilators should have been deployed. Innocent children should not suffer due to administrative inefficiency. Under the state syllabus, more than three to four times the number of students, when compared to CBSE, sit for the Class X and XII examinations in their own schools for all these years without any disorder,” the memorandum added.