Private schools release Class VIII exam date sheet against BSEH order
Ravinder Saini
Rohtak, February 6
The Board of School Education Haryana (BSEH), which has been authorised by SCERT Gurugram to conduct the annual exam of Class VIII in the current academic session, is gearing up to finalise the exam schedule. But several private schools affiliated to the Central Board of School Education (CBSE) in the state have released date sheet for Term-II exam of Class VIII without caring for the BSEH’s directive that no exam of Class VIII will be conducted at the school level this time.
The schools have, this time, adopted a two-term exam system for Class VIII on their level on the lines of Class X and senior secondary classes as introduced by the CBSE. Under it, the exam of Term-I for 50 per cent syllabus was conducted some months ago by the schools and the Term-II exam is due.
Parents worried
“My son’s Term-I exams were held in November and Term-II exams have been fixed from February 21. Both term exams were for 40 marks each. But the BSEH has planned to hold an 80-mark exam at the end of the term. That will be a big shock to the students,” Ashok Kumar, a parent
“While many schools in various districts have already released date sheets for Term-II exam, many more will issue it within a couple of days as they have to make preparations for the board exams of Class X and XII scheduled next month. Moreover, all CBSE schools are confident that the government’s move of holding Class VIII exams through the BSEH will be stayed by the High Court. A writ petition against the move will be filed tomorrow,” said SS Gusain, president, Haryana Progressive School Conference, a group of CBSE-affiliated schools.
The ongoing row between the BSEH and the schools has caused anxiety among parents. The BSEH has released its own syllabus for annual exams while the schools are still teaching students as per the syllabus for the Term-IIexam.
Ved Prakash Yadav, Vice-Chairman, BSEH, said the syllabus for Class VIII had already been cut by 30 per cent and it was almost similar to what was being taught in the private schools. Hence, parents need not to worry about it. “We are in the process of finalising the exam schedule for Class VIII,” he added.
Private schools affiliated to the CBSE had, last month, approached the High Court challenging the state government’s decision to conduct board exams of Class VIII for all schools in the state, including the schools under the CBSE and other educational boards, through the BSEH from academic session 2021-22.
They pleaded that mandating Class-VIII exams by the BSEH for all schools would mean dual affiliation which was neither practical nor feasible. Later, the government informed the court that the power of conducting the exams had been withdrawn from the BSEH while the SCERT had been notified as academic authority.
The SCERT then authorised the BSEH to conduct the exams pleading that the BSEH possesses expertise to hold such exams. Then, the BSEH issued orders asking the schools to get themselves registered with it by February 15. It also stated that no exams for Class VIII would be conducted at school level this time.
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