While the decision of the State Government to cancel the Class 12 State board exams owing to the COVID-19 pandemic has been welcomed by several stakeholders, it now remains to be seen how the students will be assessed.
Private schools that did not have issues related to accessibility, had online classes through the year and were able to conduct assessments virtually as well. However, for smaller schools in rural areas, the only exams that took place this year for class 12 students were between January to April, when campuses were opened up for a short while.
“The class 11 board exams were the last common exams that these students took up. Barring one subject each, both science and commerce groups students had completed all other exams in 2020,” said A. Ramu, Directly Recruited Post Graduate Teachers Association. He said that 50% of the class 11 marks could be considered, and weightage coils also be given to the revision exams that the students took up this year as well as their class 10 performance.
Students also managed to complete their practical exams for class 12 in all subjects in April, and those scores are available for consideration as well. In the 2019-2020 academic year, when these students were in class 11, they also took up quarterly, half-yearly and pre-board exams before their board exams.
“Since the Class 10 board exam papers are not based on the groups that students choose in class 11 and 12, we do not expect those scores to be taken into consideration in a big way,” said G.J. Manohar, Senior Principal, MCC Higher Secondary school. “In addition to the Class 11 marks, their class 12 practical exam marks as well as an internal assessment component might be taken,” he added.
For several students, the decision to cancel the board exam is a welcome one since it put an end to a lot of uncertainty. At MCC School, a survey that they had taken before the announcement came from the State Government stated that only 30% of their students had wanted the board examinations to be conducted. “Naturally, a majority of the students are happy with this decision,” Mr Manohar added.
Teachers Associations including the Tamil Nadu Teachers Association and the Tamil Nadu Vocational Teachers Kazhagam welcomed the decision to cancel the board exams and said that the health of students was extremely important. Both associations have called for the State Government to also ensure that NEET is cancelled as well.
The CBSE has set up a 12-member panel to decide how to assess Class 12 students following the cancellation of their board exams and a report is to be submitted in ten days. “The State Government might take a decision on our evaluation criteria after seeing what the CBSE will follow, so that there is not much of a disparity in how the students are graded,” said K.P.O. Suresh, President, Tamil Nadu Post Graduate Teachers Federation.
