Board exams will put students in a class of their own

It is a decision in the right direction as there has been a drop in the ‘quality’ of academic standards of the students. Parents and teachers know that the children tend to take it easy when there is no pressure at all on them and it will eventually affect the standard of education adversely and the students who are the future pillars of the nation.      

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Dr Shruti Chawla, Chandigarh

Focus on memorising content

CBSE exams are not the only factor that put pressure on the students. Number, the diversity of subjects and teaching methods are also a burden because we focus on memorising the subject content, rather the comprehension of various concepts that aid apprehension of the objective world besides employability. An intelligent overhauling of the system with the Humanities, Art, Science and Technology as the base, combining teaching with examining, must be undertaken.

Dr SS Bhatti, Chandigarh

Improve the exam system

Evaluation/examination is the process of determining the extent to which the objectives of education are achieved. Needless to say that the objectives of education to prepare our students to be successful and happy in the 21st century are to develop thinking, emotional, technological and social skills, team work and good character. Efforts to analyse and improve the examination system as per the international standards must continue lest our students should lag behind in competing at the global level.

Santosh Bhandari, School Director, Panchkula

CCE has been a success

I have no issues with the CBSE reintroducing the Board exams for Class X. But it should not be done on the pretext that the CCE has failed. As a teacher, I have been implementing CCE since its inception in 2010. It has neither failed nor increased the workload of students. It is because my school has followed it in its true spirit, and the principal and the teachers have taken pains to make it a success.

Madhu RD Singh, Teacher, Ambala Cantt

Board exams will improve competition skills

Reintroducing of compulsory class X board examinations will help students for future board exams, especially class XI and XII. Competition skills of students will increase and provide an opportunity to show their talent. The Board system will also bring more transparency as it will reduce the chances of favouritism/bias by the school staff towards certain students while awarding grades and to show their efficiency in teaching the students.

Kiranvir Kaur, Chandigarh

Board exam will boost quality of education

Reintroduction of Class X board examination will surely improve the quality of education. The idea of making the exams optional was to reduce the stress of students with respect to obsession of marks obtained. This eventually leads to poor performance in class XII examination. Class X boards are just another step towards the journey of education. Stronger the foundation, sweeter the success will be in future.

Kamalpreet Kaur, Mohali

CCE only increases exam phobia

Any policy or rule made optional, hardly finds any takers, but is rather violated with impunity. So has it been proved in the case of Class X CBSE optional exam which made both teachers and the taught complacent and lethargic. The idea of the CBSE replacing Class X exam with the CCE system did not turn out to be pragmatic and only increased the exam phobia at the senior secondary level. Reversing to compulsory exams is an appreciable step.

RC Verma, Chandigarh

Board exams will force students to study hard

The decision of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to reintroduce Board Examination for Class X students is a good one. This system will definitely improve the intelligence of the students. House examinations are a farce where no child is allowed to fail howsoever dull he/she may be. The Board exams will force the students to really study hard and get rid of rote learning.

RK Kapoor, Chandigarh

Exam fear makes students prepare well

It is a common phenomena that a Board examination always brings about some kind of anxiety in the mind of students.  So they take this examination more seriously vis-à-vis any school or private examination.  With the fear of examination, they start preparing for it well in advance so as to ensure that they get through and score well in the papers. Conversely, they do not pay much attention towards the school examination.

Hardeep Singh Slaich, Mohali

Board exams offer a common platform

The reintroduction of compulsory board examination for class X students is a prudent step. In the absence of board exams, the schools had the discretion to grade the students as per their own whims and fancies. Some arbitrary grading was also in play. Due to this, students were being graded on superfluous basis. But with board exam, a common platform will be available to all the students. Those who are really good will get the grades.

Dr Rajeev Kumar, Chandigarh

Absence of Board exams affects standards

The CCE system under the RTE Act was aimed at not detaining students up to Class VIII and Board exams made optional for Class X. This policy led learners to develop a lackadaisical attitude towards the studies because there was no risk of failing. Thus the system led to a decline in academic exercise. Consequent to it, students with less merit, who through this system went to higher secondary classes, had an uphill task in coping with the standards.

SS Arora, Mohali

Present system encourages mediocrity

Frequently changed rules damage the students. Brilliant students are not affected. The present system allows below average students to continue schooling up to class X. In the new system, students who are below average in merit will drop midway as they will not be able to cope with full year syllabus of class X. The present system allows them to appear throughout the year with small portions of syllabus in different term exams, decreasing the rate of drop outs.

Bharat Bhushan Sharma

CCE system did not make students competitive

The reintroduction of board exam for class X is a step towards the betterment of students. The students go through various entrance exams after class X and Plus Two for higher studies and jobs. The exams prepare the students to sustain and absorb the pressure of studies. The CCE system was easy and comfortable for the students but was not adequate to make them competitive. The board exam system will train the students.

Wg Cdr Jasbir Singh Minhas (retd), Mohali 

Class X Board  a trial run for Class XII Board exam

CBSE board exams for class X students is a step which was badly needed to stop the decline in performance of the students in class XII board exam. It will be a trial run for the more important exam of Class XII and a wake-up call for the students not doing well. The exam will reduce the fear and stress for the next exam which is more important from the career point of view.

Wg Cdr JS Bhalla (retd)

Best time to imbibe qualities in students

Teen age is the most disruptive period when the students need to know and be actually taught the best of the gains of punctuality, regularity, discipline, hard work and the beauty of taking the first major external exam of Class X when they are about to enter the threshold of their career. No gain, no pain. There is no short-cut to “success”.

Sham Murari Sharma, Chandigarh

A step in right direction

Reintroduction of compulsory board exams of CBSE Class X is a step in the right direction. I feel there will be no pressure on the students. Rather they will be of great benefit. Students also feel that it is a good move. They ensure fair assessment and this will help them in preparing for competitive exams. Some schools may not be ready to face it easily because of weightage criteria.

Vidya Sagar Garg, Panchkula

Board exams better

The CCE system in schools for class X students was introduced in 2011 and it remained in existence till 2016. During this period, the CBSE must have examined its all-round positives and negatives regarding the studies of students and there after only approved the proposal to revert back to the Board examination system. The Board examination put students to work hard. So in the interest of the students, board examination is better.

HBS Batra, Mohali

Accept exams as a challenge

Examinations create a certain pressure which urges the students to prove the best of their potential. Accepting it as a challenge will definitely boost their knowledge and calibre. It may seem that long hours of preparation and hard work deprive the students of leisure and pleasure. But in the long run, it proves advantageous to them. Doing away with board exams only leads to deterioration.

Nikhil Chopra

Board exams will help students gear up for challenges

Board exams are like the ‘final judgment’ point for which students put in genuine efforts and look forward to results. The decision to re-introduce the same will help re-kindle the spirit of competition among the students and usher in much-needed dynamism and agility helping the students gear up for bigger challenges ahead. The school system too must encourage students to strive towards clearing the examinations and help weak students.

Akash Kumar

Board exams the best option

It has been observed in the past that when in 2011, under the continuous and comprehensive evaluation, after the Board exam was made optional in CBSE schools, the standard of education has come down. I would suggest that to judge the capability of students, the Board examination is the best option and the students have to work hard to show their capability. In this way, the students prepare to compete in another sphere of technical examinations.

Tarlok Singh, Manimajra

Relying on CCE not enough

To judge the true abilities of students, exams are the main tool. Ideally, the annual exams should be supplemented with periodic class tests and classroom assessments. Just relying on CCEs is not enough as classroom evaluation may sometimes be affected by personal prejudices of teachers. As far as the argument of increase in stress on students is concerned, I think it is an unwarranted bugbear. Challenges enhance the ability, especially among the youth.

Bubby Soin

Board pressure will be only for betterment

Reintroducing the board examination for class X by the CBSE definitely is a good sign towards students preparing for their exams. No doubt the Board system of examination will put pressure on the students, but this pressure would be for their betterment. It is a fact that for students, the Board examination seems tough whereas they take the examination conducted by the school lightly. So, the decision will help the students.

Balbir Singh Batra, Mohali

Will help students in the long run

The decision of the Union HRD Ministry is a good step towards nation building. Till now, the CCE system has decreased the pressure on the students which then lets the students face the consequences in class XII boards. This step will help the students in the long run and also help in the real evaluation of a student. 

Pradyumn Gupta, Chandigarh

Pvt schools inflate marks

Compulsory CBSE Class X board examination has its own sanctity and is a milestone in educational qualification of every individual. Round the year tests and internal grading cannot in any way bring out and evaluate the real calibre and worth of the students due to certain extraneous factors that come into play at the school level. Marks inflated to the maximum is the first motive and modus operandi of private schools.

SC Luthra, Manimajra

Comment
CBSE opens Pandora’s box on Class X exams
Nitin Jain

The decision will have to be approved by the government before it is implemented. Currently, the students are given the option to choose either the Board exam or school-based examination. Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar has favoured Board exams for the CBSE students as is the practice in all state boards. This comes with the proviso that in Class X Board exams, 80 per cent weightage will be given to the marks scored in the examination while 20 per cent weightage will rest with internal evaluation. This U-turn by the CBSE has again opened the Pandora’s Box: whether exams are good or will add to the pressure on the students?

While the students and parents remain divided on the issue, academicians are of the view that exams are necessary if the skills of the students are to be honed. The exams may well add to the pressure on the students but the fact remains that without exams, most students tend to take studies casually, and the internal assessment, more often than not, tends to be subjective, not objective.

For bright and intelligent students, exams make a lot of difference, for the grading system prevalent since 2011 puts all students falling in the given ten per cent bracket in the same grade. For example, those securing 90 per cent and 99.9 per cent get bracketed together. In exams, even a single mark, marks the merit of a student. Given the marking level in the competitive exams, the grading system seems to be behind times. Moreover, the academicians are also of the opinion that promoting Class X students without exams comes in the way of higher education as they remain casual until they have to appear in Class XII exams which are compulsory.