Cancellation of Class 12th Exam 2021: How it will affect students?

Finally, after much deliberation, the Centre decided to cancel CBSE Class 12 board exam. The decision was taken keeping in view the student’s safety and the ongoing pandemic which has disrupted the academic year 2020-21. Following this latest news, several other state governments like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Goa, Uttarakhand, Gujrat and, Haryana have also canceled their respective state board exam for Class 12 and a few other state’s decisions are awaited for the same.

Although the government’s decision was student-friendly; it has received mixed reactions from teachers, parents and, students. Especially, the students who prepared year-round for the board exams are disheartened and are skeptical about the evaluation policy which is yet to be released. 

Last year, under similar situations, exams and in turn results were delayed which forced universities to start the academic year very late. But, this year instead of postponing, exams have been altogether canceled and evaluation will be done via internal assessment.

Evaluation Criteria for CBSE Class 12 examination

The government notified it would take another two weeks to come up with detailed evaluation criteria which are likely to be based on student’s performance in Class 10 and Class 11 along with internal assessment and projects of Class 12. But if a student isn’t satisfied with the marks allotted he/she can appear for the exam later when the situation is conducive.

Effect of cancellation of Board exam

The board exams are of much importance for admission in colleges and universities for higher education which justifies the worry as many claimed that no matter what, the evaluation based on internal assessment and previous year results would be unfair. Moreover, most colleges and foreign universities will start the admission process in a few weeks and if the exam score comes later, it will render no help. But the bright side being, students preparing for competitive exams like NEET, JEE can now focus clearly. 

The cancellation of the board exam would be a matter of relief for many students but the reality is it may have a long-lasting impact on the education system as a whole. It needs to be revamped, giving more importance to learning rather than examinations with the objective of holistic education. Universities and colleges of higher education need to come up with a better way of assessment and evaluation for admission processes with less dependency on Class 12 board exams.

Related post: Class 12 Board Exam Results 2021