Parents, students and schools — several stakeholders are extremely concerned by the controversies around Term I examinations of CBSE Classes X and XII. To discuss these issues, a meeting was convened in Delhi, in which, Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan gave assurance that all issues will be taken up with CBSE officials.
"During the meeting, the delegation shared the concerns of CBSE schools in Kerala and the challenges faced by the students from the board when it comes to getting admissions for higher education," said Indira Rajan, Secretary-General, National Council of CBSE Schools (NCCS). Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, MPs NK Premachandran and KC Venugopal were the delegation that attended the meeting from Kerala. When the policy of the state government to award marks quite liberally was brought up, the minister was requested to consider it and at the same time, offer CBSE students some advantage that will help them bridge the learning gap, she informed.
The Secretary-General of NCCS implored students and parents alike to not lose hope and stated that they have the full assurance of the minister that the Government of India will stand by students.
NK Premachandran informed that the inputs which the delegation managed to provide will be taken up to improve the way in which CBSE Board exams are conducted in the future. "The minister has assured that all steps will be taken to ensure that the students don't suffer," informed the MP who has previously taken up the issue of CBSE Board examinations in the Parliament as well.
Raising the matter of the central board providing different sets of question papers for Delhi and Chennai regions, he said that it is a "gross violation of the Right to Equality."
In another development regarding the CBSE Board exams, the central board issued a circular which puts an end to the evaluation of papers in schools. For the exams to be held from December 16 to 30, the schools and the centre superintendents will have to collect the OMR sheets after the exam in the span of 15 minutes and send it to the regional office after sealing it.