Board exam continues to be the preferred choice including affiliated schools in bangalore

Updated on: Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Two years after the CBSE made class 10 examinations optional to remove the bogey of 'board exam' stress for students, the scheme appears to have few takers in Bangalore.

Board exam continues to be the preferred choice over internal test among all stakeholders, including affiliated schools. While most students and parents are at ease with the old system, many schools in the city have defied the CBSE diktat and discarded internal exams altogether.

Schools are encouraging students to go for board exams on the ground that students get more options. "We recommend board examination only. This gives children an option to take up any stream and appear for competitive exams too. A child might like to switch over to ICSE or IGCSE curriculum, apart from going for PU board. In that case, the schoolbased examination will be of no use. Moreover, we have observed that students who take up boardbased exams are more confident than their counterparts," says Archana Vishvanath, principal, Jain International School.

Some schools have even rejected the CBSE scheme and done away with the school exam. "We have only board exam. We brought in this rule after evaluating the impact of school-based test on a child's career in future. Moreover, there have been instances of parents creating ruckus about the grades allotted to their wards in internal exam, as evaluation is done by our teachers," said the director of a city school.

The situation is no better in schools where the CBSE scheme is followed. "There is no comparison between numbers of students opting for school-based and board-based examinations. In DPS North, 275 students opted for the board-based test this year, while only 25 are going for the school-based one. It's the same trend in other centres too," says Mansoor Ali Khan, member of board, Delhi Public School.

While CBSE figures for 2011-12 show that only around 45% of students opted for board-based exams, city schools beg to differ. "Perhaps the trend down south is different. I don't know how CBSE arrived at this conclusion, because we are witnessing just the reverse," says Mansoor.

The drift of students towards board-based examination has much to do with parents. Wards say they are more comfortable with the board-based examination . "The school-based test was introduced only two years back. What if CBSE changes it again? If so, what value will my child's certificate hold later? Moreover, there are many colleges that demand board examination results . I don't want my child to lose out," said Sonika Nandwani , a parent.

It's a case where the intent is clear, but implementation isn't . In 2011, when CBSE made class 10 exams optional to free students from exam stress, it was seen as a path-breaking move. But fears of internal exams restricting options of students who want to either change boards or appear in competitive exams have led to many schools in the city pitching for the old board exam system. To avoid such confusion, it's binding on the board to bring greater clarity in its scheme and for schools to ensure that the best interests of the students are served. Only then will the much needed education reforms work.

Doing away with board exam and introducing grading system is good, but ensure that the child's options for the future are not narrowed down. Moreover, the fear of board exam is not something that a child is born with, it is created by the adults and institutions. Meera Ravi | Psychologist

Unlike other affiliated schools, Kendriya Vidyalas are making a conscious effort to ensure success of this reform. "In our school, more than 60% of kids are opting for school-based examination. All we do is explain to parents and children about its advantages. There is no difference in the certificates provided by the board. During counselling sessions, parents spoke about their apprehensions on 'favouritism' that might take place during the evaluation process, but it is not so. The answer sheets given for evaluation have no details of students as the cover sheet of the booklet is removed," said Shilbala Singh, principal, KV, DRDO.

Board exam continues to be the preferred choice including affiliated schools in bangalore

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