Two-term CBSE exams will reduce burden on students

CHENNAI: The Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) decision to hold the board exam twice during the academic year 2021-22 has been welcomed by school managements and students. However, private candidates and teachers say they await more clarification from the board on some issues.

Welcoming the decision, students and teachers said that it would reduce the burden on students, especially in the wake of the pandemic. For the board exam 2021, the board will test students on the rationalised syllabus that was slashed by 30 per cent during the lockdown The first term exam will be held in their respective schools with external examiners in November-December 2021, and will have Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) covering only the first half of the rationalised syllabus. The second exam will be held at designated centres in March-April.

“This is a good decision. This will reduce the burden on students and teachers will not skip any lessons if the burden is low,” said KR Nandhakumar, leader of the Tamil Nadu Matriculation, Higher Secondary and CBSE Schools Association. K Meena, a Class 12 CBSE physics teacher from Chennai, added that writing exams in the MCQ pattern will also provide training for students to crack competitive exams. 

 Private candidates, however, are not convinced about the new strategy and have sought clarification on how exams will be conducted for them. About 30,000 students will take up the exam privately. Prema Hari (name changed), a CBSE Class 10 candidate who opted for self study due to health complications, said, “Now if they say that one part of the board exam will be conducted in students’ respective schools, where will private candidates write?”