Dilemma on Class 12 Board Exams: Crucial meet today; Test only 'major' subjects an option

A high-level meeting will be held at around 11.30 am on Sunday to take a call on the pending class 12 board exams and subsequent entrance examinations that were postponed due to the raging second wave of Covid-19 in the country.

Chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the meeting will see the presence of Union minister for education Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', Union women and child development minister Smriti Irani and minister for information and broadcasting Prakash Javadekar.

Education ministers and secretaries of all states and union territories have also been asked to attend.

"All the state government education ministers and secretaries have been requested to attend this meeting and to share their valuable views with regards to upcoming examinations. This virtual meeting will take place on 23 May," Pokhriyal said on Saturday.

The minister also sought inputs from all the stakeholders – students, parents, teachers and others – through social media.

Pokhriyal has written to states and UTs stating that the department of school education and literacy, and the CBSE are exploring options regarding the conduct of exams, keeping in mind the safety and security of students as well the teachers.

But what are the options available with the board?

Exams for major subjects:

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has proposed that it will conduct the class 12 board exams for only major subjects in the existing format of pen and paper mode.

CBSE offers 174 subjects, out of which, about 20 are considered major. The major subjects include Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology, History, Political Science, Business Studies, Accountancy, Geography, Economics, and English.

A CBSE student takes a minimum of five and a maximum of six subjects. Of these, usually, four are major subjects.

Under this format, marks for minor subjects can be calculated based on the performance in the major subjects.

Conducting all exams in two phases:

If the board is to choose this model, all exams -- major and minor -- will be conducted in two phases at the designated centres.

This method may be opted to manage crowding at any centre.

Cancelling the exams:

Under the present circumstances, the CBSE has also reportedly proposed that the traditional exams may be cancelled and results announced as per an alternative assessment scheme.

Changing the format of exams

Apart from these suggestions by the CBSE, school principals have proposed an alternative way to hold exams.

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