Nagpur: As cases of Covid-19 rise in Nagpur district, many parents are questioning why some schools are putting stress on internal exams being held in offline mode.
For Std IX and XI, final exams are conducted and evaluated internally, and parents say there is no logic in a mandatory offline exam set up.
Parent of a CBSE school student said her child was not feeling comfortable going to school for the Std IX exam. “We were told attendance in school is not mandatory, then why should exams be made mandatory if they are to be evaluated internally. It’s not like board exams where one does not have a choice,” she said.
Some CBSE schools have implemented the online exam system and modified it to represent a traditional pen-paper setting. Jain International School has not reopened for physical classes as parents did not give consent, so the final exams are being proctored.
Anmol Badjatia, principal of the school, said, “Before the exam starts, children place their cameras in a way that we can see their desk and surroundings. The question paper is shared on their screens and they have to solve it in the traditional pen-paper format. There are some online questions too which students solve. An observer is continuously monitoring their screens to ensure that fair practices are being followed.”
For X and XII, preliminary exams are the crucial internal exams before the actual board exams start. Almost all schools which have reopened for physical classes have finished their prelims. And many schools hold more than one round of prelims.
Zafar Khan, president of School Headmasters’ Charitable Association, said purpose of holding prelims has to be kept in mind. “This exam gives the student a chance to experience the atmosphere of a board exam. Those in Std X will be appearing for board exams for the first time, which will be in a pen-paper format only. So prelims give us a perfect idea of where our students stand and also gives them a feel of the exam environment which they will face in less than two months from now,” said Khan.
He added that it’s common practice for many schools to hold three or more rounds of prelims. “The paper is set exactly in the board format, and going through the process a couple of times helps students to improve their performance,” said Khan.
Even though Std V-VIII have reopened and final exams are held, in reality they do not carry much weightage. As per the existing rules, no student can be failed till Std VIII and hence, the exams become a mere formality. The central government has amended the no-fail policy specifically for Std V and VIII, its implementation is up to the state.
Ashnarayan Tiwari, a senior academic and principal of Adarsh Vidya Mandir (Gandhibagh), said, “Education rules have to be implemented at the state level and that’s why as of now, no student can be held back till Std VIII. We conduct exams and those who fail are called for extra classes during summer vacation following which another round of exam is held after which the child moves to the next class.”