UP Board cancels Class 12 exam, promotion policy soon

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh on Thursday joined other states to cancel Class 12 state board examinations to ward off infections amidst the second corona wave.
The move comes three days after the Union government cancelled Class 12 examinations conducted by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), reports Isha Jain. Over 26.1 lakh students in the state had registered for Class 12 exams conducted by UP Secondary Education Board (UPSEB) and another 29.9 lakh for Class 10 exams, which too was cancelled last month. Putting student safety first, deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma who heads secondary education in the state, said, “This is the first time in 100 years of the UP Board that both class 10 and 12 exams have been cancelled.”
UPSEB, which is in its centenary year, has hammered out a tentative formula for promoting class 10 and 12 students, which will be approved by a government-appointed committee.
Class 12 students will be promoted on the basis of average marks derived from their performance in class 10 board exam and annual exams in class 11.
Students who failed to appear for class 11 exams last year due to the pandemic, would be evaluated by their class 12 pre-board exam marks, Sharma said. In absence of average marks, both regular and private students will be uniformly promoted, but these students would only get a class promotion certificate.
In the interest of class 12 students, the government also decided to provide them a chance to appear for improvement examinations in one or all subjects to better their scores. Such students (registered for class 12 exams-2021) can appear next year with the 2022 batch. Marks obtained in improvement exams will be counted as 2021 intermediate marks only.
Similarly, for Class 10 students, an average of class 9 and pre-board exam marks will be tabulated. In absence of any of these, students will be promoted uniformly to class 11. Class 10 students too can appear for improvement exams next year, Sharma said.
“Now, class 12 students can swiftly get admission in higher educational institutions, while class 10 students can begin online classes for their next class,” the minister said.
Sharma, however, said the promotion formula is not final. A committee headed by additional chief secretary, secondary education, Aradhana Shukla, has been formed and the promotion policy will be formulated after the panel tables its recommendations.