Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday urged the Central Government to cancel the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations and said some alternative methods could be thought of to evaluate the students this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also announced that he is meeting the Minister of Education, secretaries of Education Ministries, and other officials to discuss conducting board exams. Earlier this week, the Ministry of Education and CBSE held a meeting amid the rising demand for cancellation on board exams.
"Six lakh children in Delhi are going to write CBSE exams. Nearly 1 lakh teachers will be a part of it. These can become major hotspots leading to the large-scale spreading of Corona. Children's lives and health is very important to us. I request Centre to cancel CBSE exams," Kejriwal said. He added that children can be promoted this time on the basis of either an online method or internal assessment. "Some alternative methods could be thought of. But CBSE exams should be cancelled," he said.
In the wake of rising Coronavirus cases, Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia has asked schools to postpone the ongoing CBSE Class 10 and 12 practical exams till at least April 20. "We have advised schools to consult with their external examiners and postpone the remaining CBSE class 10 and 12 practical exams for a while. Only one or two practical exams are left in a majority of schools and we have advised them to reschedule these to after April 20," he said.
In the wake of rising COVID-19 cases across the country, several state boards including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu among others have either cancelled or postponed the Class 10 and 12 board exams. Students and parents want the CBSE to do the same across the country or at least conduct the exams online. The CBSE exams are set to start next month. Twitter has been filled with students asking for cancellation and raising concerns about their health if they take the exams in this situation. The hashtag #CancelCBSEBoardExams has been trending for quite some time now.
