PUNE: The International Baccalaureate (IB) board on Thursday announced that the May 2021 examinations for all schools in India offering IB diploma programme (Grade 12) will not be held this year, and the middle years programme (Grade 10) will be given an ‘alternative tasks’.
According to the IB website, there are 188 affiliated schools in the country with 146 offering the diploma programme. In Pune, at least 12 schools in the district offer IB education.
Since the examinations cannot be conducted in schools, the IB has created advanced alternative task assessments for Grade 10 students to complete online at home. Grades will be based on their performance, along with the portfolios and personal projects.
The announcement about the exams comes against the background of the Covid-19 situation across the country. IB has found a way to hold Grade 10 exams when the CBSE has cancelled the standard X exam and the state board has postponed both the HSC and SSC exams, and is rethinking its decision to hold them.
Robbin Ghosh, president of Victorious Kidss Educares, an IB school in Pune, said, the board has decided on students’ assessments to implement the alternate task route.
“The IB has come up with technological advancements and assessment criteria that can help the examiners to adopt assessments to promote deeper learning skills that students need in a knowledge-based economy,” Ghosh added.
Sandeep Chhabra, principal of Indus International, said, “IB has cancelled sit-down exams due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation in India. In Grade 12, there is a well-defined process of internal assessments which are externally assessed. This, along with the predicted grade submitted by the school, will enable awarding of grades to the outgoing batch,” he said.
To strengthen predicted grade accuracy globally for schools on both routes (exam and non-exam), the IB has provided schools with customised predicted grade distributions for each subject.
The
Maharashtra education department had written to the IB board to reconsider the dates for their examinations.IB had simultaneously also consulted schools to seekfeedback about the on-ground situation.
“We intend that the results of students in India should be awarded using coursework marks and predicted grades for the May 2021 session, as described in the awarding model outlined in February,” said the board in an official statement.
The May series last year too could not be conducted due to the pandemic and students were awarded in a similar pattern.
“Conducting examinations is the most reliable way to assess students’ achievements, but the decision was taken considering the safety of students and teachers. It may not benefit all the students. We will know the impact after the results. Last year too, most parents were upset with the results,” said the principal of an IB school in Mumbai .
( With inputs from Vinamrata Borwankar )