CBSE Class 12 Board Exams: Committee to decide evaluation criteria; sets June 14 deadline

In a key development, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Friday constituted a committee to decide well-defined objective criteria for the evaluation of the students. The committee has been directed to submit its reports within 10 days. This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the cancellation of CBSE class 12 board exams on Tuesday, citing the COVID-19 situation in the country, which as per him were not conducive to conduct the exams. "You cannot force the children to appear for the exams," he had said. 

Supreme Court grants two weeks time to decide objective criteria

The development comes after the Supreme Court on Wednesday granted two weeks' time to the CBSE and the ICSE to decide the objective criteria for an alternate mode of assessment for Class 12 students, in lieu of the exams canceled on account of COVID.

A vacation bench comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari on Wednesday heard the PIL filed by 7,000 parents seeking to cancel the class 12 board exams in view of the Coronavirus pandemic. While Attorney General for India KK Venugopal, appearing for the CBSE, informed the bench about the decision taken by the Central Government on June 1 to cancel the CBSE exams, and then went on to submit that a decision on objective criteria will be taken within 2 weeks, Senior Advocate JK Das, appearing for the CISCE, requested the bench for four weeks time to finalize the objective criteria.

The bench led by Justice AM Khanwilkar said that four weeks was too long a time, considering the urgency of the matter."If you want you can do it overnight also. Do it in 2 weeks. A-G has asked for a reasonable time. Don't bargain time frame, in fact, you should be doing it overnight, the bench said.  

CBSE and ISC cancel class 12 board exams

Hours after the high-profile meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday evening, the CBSE, as well as the ISC class 12 board exams, were canceled. Both the leading boards held that the students will not be required to appear for physical exams, and will be marked on objective criteria, the details of which will be released at a later date. The boards also maintained that if any student is dissatisfied with the criteria or the marks obtained, they will be given a chance to appear for physical exams on a later date, when the COVID-19 situation improves and the environment seems conducive for conductive physical exams. 

(Credit-PTI/CBSE)