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“Bizarre! Unfair! We would have studied harder if we had known!”
After the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Thursday, 17 June, announced the details of how the performance of 14 lakh students would be evaluated, The Quint reached out to some students to find out what they think about the new evaluation criteria. While some called it bizarre, others believe that online education itself is not inclusive of students coming from underprivileged backgrounds and the scheme would be negatively biased for them.
The CBSE, which had earlier cancelled board examinations for Class 12, announced on Thursday that as per the new scheme, for Class 12, the marks obtained in unit, term, and practicals will be taken into account, and the results will be decided based on the performance in Classes 10 and 11 (30 percent weightage for each).
On being asked if the criteria are fair, Swara Ved, a commerce student from Cambridge School, said, “To say that it would be fair for all will be wrong. Many students had been preparing hard the entire year and they see Class 12 board examinations as something that will decide their future. Now they have been cancelled and a new marking system has been devised.”
While she said that such students will be a little disappointed, Ved added that “it’s the most appropriate solution for the prevailing situation”.
Anwar supported the percentage share of marks from Classes 10 and 11, saying that marks cannot be taken exclusively for Class 12 as that will be more unfair to the students suffering due to lack of resources. He added that regardless of what percentage either class is given, the outcome will not be fair.
Shreyash Pandey, a student from Gyan Bharti School, called the marking scheme “bizarre”.
Belonging to the science stream, he added, “For my stream specially, it’s hard to score in Class 11. Moreover, they are giving 40 percent for Class 12, while giving a collective 60 percent for the previous two classes.”
Responding to the scheme, Ritik Raj, a student of St Joseph’s School in Bihar, said, “It’s not fair because we didn’t know that Classes 10 and 11 will be involved. If we had known, we would’ve studied harder. Also, people take Class 11 a little lightly.”
Anwar, on being asked about his score in Class 11, chuckled and said, “They weren’t great, I would say.”
However, he also said that his opinion on the criteria did not matter.
“I go to a private school in a metropolitan city. My demographic will not be in a bad situation because private schools won’t give bad marks, because their reputation is at stake.”
Similarly, Ved said that in general, schools have a strict marking system for Class 11 students. “They don’t give marks freely. So, students don’t get a high percentage in Class 11,” she feels.
Meanwhile, on being asked about online teaching, she said, “It’s difficult to catch up with each and every class and stay in touch with everything being done online. Many students do not have proper internet connection or the gadgets required. So, the disparities are there but right now we should focus on the optimistic part and keep going.”
According to Ved, it becomes difficult for the science stream to judge their practical marks online. She added that though the practical component was missing, the marks will have to be judged on a student's general as well as in-depth knowledge of the subject.
Anwar said that online or offline practicals are reflective of how prepared a student is either way. Though the ‘practical’ components were missing in mainstream science subjects, they were tested on practical knowledge through vivas, he said.
Ved added, “Nothing can replace offline classes, but the teachers have worked really hard to teach us. We’ve also tried to grasp as much as we could through online classes.”
Speaking to The Quint, Dr Aparna Seebaluck, principal of Cambridge School in Delhi, said, “I think the criteria for preparing the Class 12 assessment is quite well thought out, and given the prevailing circumstances, quite fair. Considering the historical data of each student and the school overall allows all to be assessed equally.”
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