CBSE issues clarification over Class 10, Class 12 board exams, check detailed statement

NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Wednesday issued a clarification, putting an end to all speculation about cancellation or rescheduling of the pending CBSE 10th 12th Board Exams 2020. 

Taking to the official twitter handle, the Board stated that the board would be conducting the examinations of the 29 subjects as per the April 1 circular, which is also available on cbse.nic.in.

“Recently there has been a lot of speculation regarding 10th CBSE Board exams. It is reiterated that the board’s decision to take board exams for 29 subjects of class 10 and 12, stands the same as mentioned in circular dated 1.4.20,’’ the CBSE Board said in the tweet.

Recently there has been a lot of speculation regarding 10th CBSE Board exams. It is reiterated that the boards decision to take board exams for 29 subjects of class 10 and 12, stands the same as mentioned in circular dated 1.4.20.@DrRPNishank @PMOIndia @PTI_News — CBSE HQ (@cbseindia29) April 29, 2020

The CBSE also issued a circular stating its position regarding the conduct of exams for various classes with regard to the COVID-19 situation in the country. 

Here’s the detailed statement issued by the CBSE Board

“As a precautionary measure and in compliance with the instructions received from Secretary, Department of Higher Education/ School Education and Literacy, Government of  India, dated 18th March 2020, CBSE had postponed all the board examinations that were to be held between 19.03.2020 to 31.03.2020. It was informed in the Board’s press release dated 18.3.20 that “date sheets for the rescheduled board examinations shall be communicated by the board through its website and press release after re-assessment of the situation.” 

The Board is committed to the academic welfare of its students; therefore, the Board is constantly assessing the situation and is keen to mitigate the anxiety of the students, parents, and schools.

In view  of  the  prevailing extraordinary  circumstances  of  the worldwide spread of COVID-19 and the countrywide lockdown, and in view of the queries raised  by  our  stakeholders  regarding  the  academic  future  of  students,  the  Board advises/informs all schools affiliated to the Board as follows as a one-time measure:

1. For classes 1 to 8: All students studying in classes 1 to 8 may be promoted to the next class/grade. This advisory is being issued in consultation with NCERT.

2. For classes  9  and  11: It has come to our notice that though several schools affiliated to CBSE have completed their examination, evaluation and promotion process for students who were studying in grades 9  and  11 in the  2019-20 academic session, there are several schools that have not been able to do so. This includes among others, Kendriya Vidyalayas,  Navodaya  Vidyalayas, State/UT government schools, private schools, schools located in India and abroad, etc. All such schools are advised to promote students of grades  9  and  11  to the next grades on the basis of all the school-based assessments including project work, periodic tests, term exams, etc. conducted so far. 

For any child who is unable to clear this internal process, (in any number of subjects), the school may utilise this period for providing remedial interventions, and school may give the opportunity of appearing in school-based test/s,  online or offline.  The promotion of such children may be decided on the basis of such tests. 

3. Schedule for class 10 and 12 board exams: With regard to rescheduling board examinations for classes 10 and 12, it is informed that at this stage it is difficult for the Board to decide and announce the new schedule for examinations. However, it is informed that any decision that the board will take with regard to the conduct of examinations will be taken by undertaking extensive consultation with higher education authorities and by keeping all aspects related to entrance exams, admissions dates, etc. in mind. In this context, it is further informed that the Board will give notice of about 10 days to all stakeholders before starting the Board examinations.

4.Subjects for Board exams: It is informed that the Board was not able to conduct exams on 8examination days due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Further, due to the law and order situation in North East Delhi District, the board was not able to conduct exams on 4examination days,  while a  very small number of students from and around this  District were not able to appear in exams on 6 examination days. Considering the extraordinary circumstances, the Board has been forced to review its policy in this regard. 

Under ordinary circumstances, the Board would not have hesitated to conduct all examinations that could not be held after 18th March 2020 or are postponed for other reasons.  But in the present situation,  the  Board  has decided as follows:

•The Board will conduct examinations for only main subjects that will be required for promotion and may be crucial for admissions in higher educational institutions. 
•For the rest of the subjects,  the  Board will not hold examinations; the instructions for marking/assessment in all such cases shall be separately issued by the Board.
•Therefore, as and when the Board is in a position to hold examinations, it shall hold examinations only for the following 29 subjects:

There are several CBSE schools located in 25 countries. Each of these countries are also under lockdown and/or have decided to close down the schools for various and differential lengths of time. 

Under such circumstances, it is felt that the Board will not be in a position to hold a differential set of exams for each of these countries.  Also, in the present situation, it will be difficult to bring the answer books to  India for evaluation purposes. 

Therefore, the Board has decided to not hold any more exams for the students of class 10 and 12  schools located outside  India. The system of  marking/assessment  for  the purpose of declaring results will be worked out by the Board shortly and informed to these schools. 

6. Evaluation work: Due to the present situation,  the  Board has not been able to continue its evaluation work. The Board will come out with further instructions for Evaluating in the changed circumstances.  These instructions and dates for the restart of evaluation work in various evaluation centres in the country can also not be announced at this stage. However, the Board will give 3-4 days’ notice to restart the evaluation work, which may be noted by all the Chief Nodal Supervisors, Head   Examiners, Evaluators,   Coordinators,   etc.of   Evaluation Centers. 

7. Avoid rumours: To avoid being misled by rumours, all stakeholders have hereby informed to only trust the official announcements by the Board that are made on the Board’s website. All are requested  to  check  for  latest  developments  only  on the Board’s website, that is www.cbse.nic.inor its social media as follows: 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/cbse_hq_1929
Twitter: ttps://twitter.com/@cbseindia29
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cbseindia29/8.

Schools to inform all students: All schools are requested to ensure that this information is disseminated to all concerned students by the respective schools. 
Though the present set of circumstances are not within the control of the  Board,  the Board deeply regrets the inconvenience caused to all its stakeholders, and seeks their patience and cooperation in these difficult times, with our assurance that the  Board is working constantly behind the scenes to take care of the academic future of its students.