CBSE extended date to pay exam fees for Class 10 and 12, no word on postponing board exams to May 2021

Amid the Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) decision to extend the deadline for payment of examination fees for Class 10 and 12 Board exams and a recent Delhi government letter to the board seeking an extension of the 20120-21 academic session, reports have emerged that the Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations may be held in May 2021.

However, there has been no official confirmation by the board on the same and students are advised not to believe any rumours till the board makes an official announcement, if any.

What's the Delhi govt's letter about?

The Delhi government recently wrote a letter to the CBSE with four requests. The first request was an extension on the deadline to pay examination fees for upcoming Class 10 and Class 12 board exams till 14 November, whereas, the second request was with regards to a waiver of examination fees for those economically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Third, the govt sought a reduction in the school syllabus for both Class 10 and 12 board exams, and fourth, the govt requested the board to extend the 2020-2021 session till May next year.

The Delhi government had last week written to CBSE, urging it not to conduct the board exams next year before May and further reduce syllabus as schools still continue to remain closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Though online, semi-online teaching learning activities are being conducted through live classes as well as worksheets or activity sheets but it cannot replace the physical classroom teaching learning process," the Department of Education of Delhi government had said in the letter.

"In order to provide students with a reasonable time to study in person in schools, it is requested that the ongoing academic session be extended beyond March and CBSE board exams be conducted not before May 2021. Consequently, the next academic session may commence from July 2021," it added.

The Delhi government had also written to the CBSE seeking a waiver of the examination fee for students of classes 10 and 12 in its schools citing financial crunch in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letter further said due to the ongoing pandemic, a large number of parents have lost their jobs and their incomes have been affected badly while their savings have already been used to meet their daily needs.

The Department of Education had also requested for an extension of the deadline for payment of examination fees for the 2021 board exams from 15 October to 14 November.

"It is submitted that certain people and organisations have expressed their desire to offer financial support as a welfare measure and wish to pay the examination fee of some students of some schools as a noble cause. In view of that, CBSE is requested to kindly extend the date of submission of examination fee up to 14 November in place of 15 October," the Directorate of Education of the Delhi government had said in its letter.

It had also requested to further reduce the syllabus for the current session, keeping the condition and the leftover time available in the session for classroom teaching.

“The CBSE had reduced 30 per cent of syllabus in all subjects in anticipation of opening of schools in July but schools in Delhi are closed till 31 October. It is also requested that sample question papers aligned with the further-reduced syllabus for the session 2020-21 may be prepared as per the latest question paper design and made available for the students at the earliest,” the DoE said.

“Practical and project work are an integral part of any subject that include assessment of desired skills and competencies. It is pertinent to give students hands on practice for the same for a sufficient period of time. It is requested that the board may provide detailed guidelines regarding the conduct of these practical exams under such conditions or any other alternate mode to replace the practical part of the subject,” it added.

The CBSE's response to Delhi govt

Following the Delhi govt's request, CBSE recently extended the deadline for payment of examination fees for Class 10 and Class 12 board exams for the academic session 2020-2021 without late fee till 31 October and with late fee from 1 to 7 November.

"Looking into the problems faced by schools and parents, the last date for submission of List of Candidates (LOC) for classes 10 and 12 for 2021 board exams without late fees has been extended from 15 to 31 October and with late free from November 1 to 7," said Sanyam Bhardwaj, CBSE's Examination Controller on Wednesday.

"From various sources it has come to the notice of CBSE that schools and parents are facing problems in completing LOC because of the situation created due to COVID-19 pandemic," Bhardwaj added. The CBSE also expressed its inability to waive the examination fees.

As for the other two requests - extension of academic year and reduction in syllabus - the board has maintained silence.

What do reports say so far on exams and syllabus?

According to a moneycontrol.com, both the CBSE and the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) are reportedly mulling to cut further the syllabus of classes 10 and 12 board examination 2021 to 50 percent or even thinking of extending the academic year and delaying Board Exams 2021 by two months.

The report published on 10 October, however, has not quoted any officials from either boards for the same. It also informs that even though discussions are on, a final decision with regards to the academic year would be taken only after direction from the Central Government.

Schools reopen in some states

With inputs from PTI