Students and parents welcome Class 12 exam cancellation decision, Uddhav thanks PM

In his address to the state through social media on Sunday, Uddhav Thackeray had urged Modi to take an appropriate decision at the national level on Class XII and other important examinations.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the decision to cancel CBSE Class 12 exams in view of the Covid-19 situation.

In his address to the state through social media on Sunday, Thackeray had urged Modi to take an appropriate decision at the national level on Class XII and other important examinations.

Covid infection is still on the rise and there was a demand by parents to cancel Class 10 and 12 exams, said a statement from the CM’s office. The CM has already taken a decision to promote Class 10 students without exams on the basis of the evaluation criteria, it added.

State Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad also welcomed the Centre’s decision to cancel the exam. “Considering the rise of Covid-19 cases… and the uncertainty, we had urged the Centre to consider an alternative to the Class 12 board exam. We had also insisted on an uniform policy to put an end to uncertainty about exams, which has caused a lot of stress for students,” she said.

“The state government believes that the health and safety of children is above everything else. We welcome the Centre’s decision to cancel CBSE exams,” she said.

The decision regarding Maharashtra state HSC exam was likely to be announced on the lines of CBSE Class 12 exam, hinted the minister. “After consulting the Maharashtra state education department officials, we will soon announce the decision…,” said Gaikwad.

“I reassure the students that the decision on HSC will factor in their concerns about health and also ensure they don’t suffer academically. We will announce the decision on HSC exams soon,” she added.

Meanwhile, elated students and parents have wholeheartedly welcomed the decision by the central government to cancel CBSE Class 12 board exams this year. They said the decision was essential and life-saving in the current situation.

Maria Anna Anil, a Class 12 student of City International School who contracted the infection in March and later recovered, said, “I will say the decision is a practical one. Since most of us were anxious about CBSE’s fluctuations, we weren’t exactly sure if they would actually cancel the board exams… it came as a surprise, to be honest. However, since the marking criteria is yet to declared, after talking to teachers and friends, we all think the best way of evaluating is marks of Class 12 internal practicals plus assignments, and a viva and pre-board marks taken together. Also, they should consider our last board exams, i.e. Class 10 marks, while calculating results.”

During an earlier review meeting, the Centre had asked states to respond in writing by May 25 with their suggestions for methodology, process, duration and timing of Class 12 exams, following which it would announce its final decision on June 1. The suggestions from states included a no-exam policy, considering Class 11 results, and current Class 12 assignments/practical marks for evaluation.

Ananya Sharma, a Class 12 student of Kothari National School, said she hoped that Class 11 marks wasn’t the criterion for evaluation.

“Even Class 11 was affected due to the pandemic and we think those marks aren’t really a fair assessment. My friends and I were discussing it after the exam cancellation announcement because what happens is that most students got busy with coaching and entrance preparations in Class 11. But in any case, we are very glad that they cancelled the exams and spared us the risk of contracting the infection. We hope they come up with a good assessment formula and declare results soon,” she said.

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