India’s Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) pupils in the UAE, who were slated to appear for Grade XII examinations that got cancelled this year because of the second and lethal wave of Covid-19, are unhappy and confused about the CBSE’s assessment pattern of 30:30:40 marking formula.
An overwhelming majority of the pupils said that the assessment pattern has been unjust because they didn’t put in much effort in their Grade XI examinations, whose marks would now be taken into consideration to determine their fate.
The marking pattern would be 30 per cent weightage each for Grade X and XI examinations. While 40 per cent weightage would be for Grade XII pre-Board examinations. Also, marks obtained in unit tests, term and practical examinations would also be taken into account.
The 100–mark practical examination remains the sole discretion of the schools to assess Grade XII candidates.
The CBSE and the Council For The Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) will declare the results of Grade 12 by July 31.
Afsal Adbul Nasir, a pupil of Our Own Indian School, Al Quoz, Dubai, said: “It’s unfair and unsatisfactory. We weren’t aware of such unforeseen situations when we were in Grade XI. If we had an inkling, our preparation approach would have been quite different,” he said.
But then, hindsight is always beautiful and seldom comes in handy in an extraordinary year that has been ravaged by Covid-19 yet again in a re-run of 2020, CBSE officials maintained.
A few pupils said that Grade X results should not be taken into consideration, as they have to either choose Commerce, Science or Humanities streams in Grade XI.
Aadya Baiju, a pupil of Our Own English School, Sharjah, said: “This is an unfair assessment. Our performances would have been better had we known that the previous marks of Grade X and XI would be taken into consideration for our Grade XII results. Our Grade X performance should not count as we have to study all the subjects. For instance, I’m a commerce student and now my marks for the subjects, which I am not studying, will be counted as well,” he added.
A few pupils assumed that toppers would continue to hold on to their pole position.
However, pupils with average grades would suffer because of the Board’s “arbitrary” decisions, they added.
“Pupils, who have scored good marks in Grade X and XII have little to complain about the Board’s decision. But those who have scored average marks find themselves in a quandary, as they have missed an opportunity to perform better in the cancelled Board examination,” said Srihari Gopal, a pupil of Our Own English School, Sharjah.
But Vinayak Shivaprasad, a pupil of Abu Dhabi Indian School (ADIS), exuded happiness at the Board’s decision.
“The situation in India is quite grim because of the second and lethal wave of the contagion and the Board’s decision appears to be rational under the circumstances,” he said.
© Khaleej Times
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