The National Council of CBSE Schools (NCCS) has approached the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) with suggestions on helping schools and students deal with the rather disappointing CBSE Class XII Term I result.
"We have suggested giving less weightage to the Class XII Term - I Examination 2021-22 and maximum weightage for AISSCE Term II examination 2021-22," said Indira Rajan, Secretary-General, NCCS. The council sees the COVID-19 pandemic as a major reason why students have underperformed. The shift from online exams to offline was "sudden" claim schools and the pattern of the question paper, which was in the objective-type format, was also not something the students were accustomed to, it claimed. The exam was also conducted at the half-year mark, which caught the students unawares, pleaded NCCS.
Stating that the performance of students impacts schools as well, NCCS has said that poor results in the Boards would push more students out of the CBSE system and encourage them to opt for the state board.
"At a time when CBSE schools in nearly all the states are struggling to survive, poor performance by the students in the Boards works negatively. Though we deliver a quality teaching-learning process, retaining students in Classes XI and XII has always been a challenge. The reason is that parents feel students will not be able to get good marks to even qualify for higher education," said Rajan, adding that such instances provide an incentive to the parents to shift their wards to the state board. Additionally, students preparing for competitive exams will also lose interest in subjects, claimed NCCS.
The council has demanded leniency in the evaluation of the Term II papers, apart from lower weightage for the Term I paper. "We have requested the board to review the matter since it will have serious implications in the progressive learning and prospective career options for students," Rajan told The New Indian Express.
