In no circumstance should physical examinations at examination centers be allowed to happen, says SIO president in letter to the Education Minister
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) has urged Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank not to conduct CBSE Class 12 Board Exams physically, and explore other modes of evaluation such as internal assessment or take home tests.
In a letter sent to the minister on Tuesday, SIO National President Mohammad Salman Ahmad said his organisation was putting forward alternative methods of conducting exams because complete cancellation of the board exams was not acceptable to most state governments. This was apparent in the recent inconclusive meeting of state government representatives, he said.
“If board exams have for any reason to be conducted, we propose that it should be done on the basis of an open book and take-home exam. Question papers and answer sheet can be made available to students at their homes, along with sufficient time to complete the exam and submit the answers back to the examination centre,” read the letter by SIO National President Mohammad Salman Ahmad.
In its previous submission to CBSE, SIO had asked for board examinations to be cancelled and for students to be promoted on the basis of internal assessments and Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) conducted by the schools. The CBSE had accepted this demand for Class 10 examinations, but no decision has been made about Class 12 exams so far. In his letter SIO president reiterated this demand.
The proposal to limit examinations to a limited number of subjects should also be considered, so as to reduce the burden on students, the letter says. In such a scenario, students should be allowed to select a minimum of three subjects to appear in according to their own choice.
“We believe it is crucial that in no circumstance should physical examinations at examination centers be allowed to happen. Regardless of the safety precautions proposed to be taken, such a large gathering of students, teachers and associated staff poses too many risks for the collective health and safety of not only every person involved in the process, but also for the public at large,” said Salman Ahmad.
Key Recommendations:
– Physical exams at exam centers must be cancelled. Large gathering of students and other stakeholders, even with all precautions, presents too many risks.
– Ideally, board exams must be cancelled and evaluation done on the basis of internal assessments
– Alternatively, open book and take-home exams can be conducted. Question papers and answer sheets can be sent to and received from students through a mix of methods: physically collected by student from school; sent and received by post; or online
– Number of subjects students have to appear in can be reduced. Each student can be given the option of choosing any three subjects to appear according to their preference