Amid the demands by students to either postpone the board examinations or to conduct them online, both the CBSE and the CISCE have said that the exams will be held as per schedule. In a joint statement issued by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), they said that adequate safety arrangements are being made for students taking the exams and all COVID-19 guidelines will be followed during the exams.
The CBSE confirmed that the board exams for class 10 and 12 will be conducted as per schedule, starting from May 4, 2021. The response of the two bodies came after the students had launched an online petition demanding the board exams to be cancelled.
A petition has been launched on change.org, asking for the board exams to be cancelled due to the rising COVID-19 cases in the country. The students, parents and teachers are also using the hashtag #CancelBoardExams2021 to spread their demand.
The petition on charge.org said, “the situation in India is getting worse day by day!! When there were only a few cases in the country they cancelled the remaining board exams, and now when the cases are at a peak they’re planning to open schools!! Some Great planning our government is doing for the future of the country.”
The petitioner further said, “I urge the education ministry to look into this matter and cancel all examinations to be held this year as students are already under a lot of stress and pressure due to these unfortunate times and above that they’ll have to take the pressure of examinations which could lead them into taking bad decisions if they don’t perform well”.
The petition has received over 75,000 signatures so far.
However, the CBSE and CISCE have rejected the demand, saying adequate arrangements are being made to ensure safety of the students. They also informed that the number of exam centres have be increased by 40-50 to ensure social distancing.
While the theory exams will take place as per schedule, the CBSE has announced relaxations for practical exams in view of the pandemic. In a circular issued on 1st April, the CBSE had announced that if any candidate can’t take practical exam due to being Covid positive, or due to any family member being Covid-positive, schools will be allowed to arrange alternate practical exams for such candidates by 11 June.