CBSE Class 12 Board Exams 2021
After the meeting of Union and state ministers, government sources said that Class 12th board exams will take place and that the Centre, while inclined to hold them, is yet to finalise the format. The Class 12th board exams of the Central Board of Secondary Education, the only school board directly under central government, will likely be held in a short format type. State boards have been left to take a call on whether to conduct the board exams based on the local conditions. The CBSE Class 12 board exam dates are yet to be finalised as well.
The Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' held a high-level meeting today with all the states and UT education ministers, secretaries and chairpersons of state examination boards as well as other stakeholders to discuss the conduct of Class 12 board examinations and entrance examinations for professional courses amidst the pandemic. CBSE, CISCE and many state boards have postponed Class 12 examinations due to a surge in COVID-19 cases. Entrance examinations like JEE and NEET have also been deferred.
The meeting was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar were also present.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), and other state and central education boards had earlier postponed final exams for Class 12 students. The Education Ministry and the CBSE are “exploring options” regarding the conduct of examinations, keeping in view the safety of students and teachers, the Education Ministry said on Saturday.
“The Department of Higher Education is also deliberating upon the finalisation of the dates of examinations for institutions of higher learning. COVID-19 pandemic has affected various areas including the Education sector, particularly the board exams and entrance exams,” Mr Ramesh Pokhriyal's letter addressed to state heads noted.
Demand For Cancellation
As many cities have imposed lockdowns and curfews to arrest the spread of coronavirus, educational institutions, among others, have been closed indefinitely. Students and parents have been demanding the cancellation of Class 12 exams as going out to give the exams might put many students at risk.
Many students have also argued that countries with a much lower number of COVID cases have cancelled all exams, and yet, the CBSE board hasn't done the same. Others have lately taken to Twitter and started trending #modiji_cancel12thboards and #CancelExamsSaveStudents to bring the matter to the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier, students have repeatedly requested Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal and CBSE to cancel board exams by using #CancelBoardExams.
Plea In Supreme Court
On May 14, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of students who will be appearing in the Class 12 examination. The plea sought a direction to the CBSE to declare the results on the basis of ‘objective methodology' within a specified timeframe. Raising concern over the safety of lakhs of students, the plea said that they might be exposed to COVID-19 infection if they have to appear in the examinations amid the increasing number of coronavirus cases.
On May 18, another plea was filed in the top court against the cancellation of the CBSE Class 12 board exams. Tony Joseph, a teacher from Kerala, said in his petition that scrapping exams will be an unfair decision for students.