Both the government-run and private school administrations in the national capital have recommended that the CBSE Class 12 board exams 2021 should be cancelled in view of the severe pandemic situation, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, said on Saturday.
Sisodia's statement came after he held a meeting on Saturday with the principals and teachers of both Delhi government-run and private schools of the national capital to discuss and solicit suggestions on the matter.
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank is scheduled to chair a virtual meeting with the state education ministers and senior officials to discuss the Class XII board exams on Sunday.
The Delhi Deputy Chief Minister also conducted an Instagram Live to take suggestions of students and parents on the matter.
According to an official press release, the consensus that emerged from all the meetings with these key stakeholders was that in the absence of vaccines to children, conducting any kind of examinations will only make our students and teachers more vulnerable to the virus.
With the surge of Covid-19 cases, teachers and principals stated that the most appropriate decision with regard to the 12th board exams would be to completely cancel them.
"Students who attended Instagram Live with the Deputy Chief Minister were of the same opinion. Keeping in mind the severity of the second wave and emergence of new variants like Black Fungus etc, many students, teachers and their families are apprehensive. They felt that exam centres might become super spreader," stated the release.
It further stated that almost all families have suffered some form of Covid-related trauma and taking any kind of exams at this stage would just add to the already challenging situation.
Hence, relaying the sentiment of many students and parents across the nation, all the stakeholders were of the opinion that safety and security in this time of crisis is of utmost importance.
Teachers and principals also stressed on the importance of vaccinating students as soon as possible. In case the 12th Board exams are cancelled this year, the education fraternity recommended that a 12th standard promotional policy, similar to the 10th standard promotional policy, be initiated.
The majority of the school teachers and principals present at this meeting concurred that final grades should be awarded on the basis of unit tests, practical examinations, general tests and pre-board exams already conducted in February-March 2021.
In addition, teachers and students also suggested that the historical reference of students' performance, that is, their past grades, projects, activities be taken into account for the final evaluation. Options of taking exam be exercised by only those who are willing to take it.
The CBSE Class 10, 12 board exam 2021 were supposed to begin from May 4. However, due to the raging second wave of the pandemic, the Class 10 board exams were cancelled on April 15, while the Class 12 exams were postponed until further notice.
When the CBSE had announced the postponement of Class 12 board exams, it had said that a final decision on the matter will be announced on June 1.
