The union government on Tuesday announced the cancellation of the CBSE Board exams this year for Class 12 students following a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a statement issued Tuesday evening, the government said the decision was taken “due to uncertain circumstances due to COVID and the response received from various stakeholders.
“This year’s results will be compiled in accordance with the” clearly defined “criteria,” the government said.
“The prime minister said the situation in Covid was a state of affairs across the country. While statistics are declining in the country and some provinces are controlling the situation through active micro-containment, some provinces are still opting for closure, ”the state said. “Students, parents and teachers are naturally concerned about the health of students in situations like these. The premier said students should not be forced to take exams in such a stressful environment. ”
A meeting on Tuesday evening was held two days before the next High Court hearing on the matter.
According to sources, the Prime Minister was briefed on a national consultation held on May 23 and commented on the two approaches proposed by the CBSE to conduct school drop-out assessments.
In the national consultation on May 23, the union government had presented the states with two options for conducting the school-leaving examination. Under Option A, exams for 19 major subjects would be held in the “existing format” at designated examination centres, while marks for minor subjects are to be calculated based on performance in major subjects.
Under Option B, major subject exams will be conducted in student schools, instead of designated institutions, and each exam will be for a short period of 90 minutes.
The 32 constituencies and union areas support the holding of the Class 12 board examination. Of these, 29 provinces and UTs are not eligible to conduct the trial in a reduced manner (Option B) or have agreed to support the Institute’s decision on this matter. Only four provinces – Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa, and Andaman and Nicobar – have strongly opposed pen and paper tests.
The meeting was attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar, and Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani. Education Minister Ramesh Pohkriyal was unable to attend as he was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) in New Delhi on Tuesday morning due to post-COVID complications. Secretary of Higher Education Amit Khare, Secretary of School Education Anita Karwal, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister PK Mishra and Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba also attended the meeting.
The union government is expected to inform the Supreme Court of its decision to cancel the Class 12 Board examination on Thursday. On Monday, the institute told the Supreme Court that it would decide in the next two days whether to hold Class XII board exams in the midst of the epidemic.
“Government will make a final decision in the next two days. We hope that your kingship will give us time until Thursday (June 3) so that we can come back with a final decision, ”Attorney General K Venugopal told the bench of Judges A M Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari.
To approve SG’s request, the bench ordered: “write Thursday as requested by the attorney general as the competent authority is examining all aspects of the matter and may take a formal decision, which will be presented in court”. The court has asked the government to provide compelling reasons if it chooses to withdraw from last year’s process.
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