Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal proposes making Class X boards optional in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) affiliated schools which is hoped to be extended to all states in due course. Since the CBSE is under the direct control of the Centre it can implement the proposal in those schools from next year onwards.

According to Sibal, the government intends to make Class X examinations optional, thus permitting students continuing in the same school (and who do not need board certificate) to take an internal school assessment instead.

He proposes a common single board exam across all India for which there will be a common board. In other words, Sibal plans to bring all schools across the country under national board exam for Class XII, which will become a basic educational qualification. One has to wait and see under this scheme how the students can opt for their streams. As of now students are given streams based on their performance in Class X exams.

In the same breath, the minister said that it was also not possible to completely do away with Class X boards, as students who intend to leave school or children of transferable parents have to take the exam as these internal assessments may not hold good elsewhere. Those who prefer to continue in the same school, Class X boards were optional.

Sibal’s proposal has brought some joy on the faces of parents and students crushed under exam stress. “Sleepless nights over Class X examinations are not needed. We will reform it and make Class X optional. We should not traumatise education. It is unacceptable,” Sibal said, while announcing his bold move.
As part of the new initiatives and expansions policy, the ministry plans to set up an independent accreditation body, which would rate the schools. This will be free from governmental interference. “Initially it will be voluntary. All good schools will opt for accreditation and those who do not will help us ascertain which are not up to the mark,” Sibal said.

The plan by HRD minister also unmasks replacements of marks by grades. As on today Class XII completed students have to prepare for different entrance examinations to secure admission to good professional institutions like IITs, IIITs, VJIT, BIT and so on

The move to scrap the Class X exam has not been lapped up by all. National Knowledge Commission vice-chairman P Bhargava feels a continuous evaluation process is much better that an ultimate final examination. “The students should be assessed based on their performance throughout the period of their study and not just one exam,” Bhargava said.  Even the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) vice-chancellor Abhai Maurya held a similar view that burden of exams should be removed from a student’s mind.

Educationist Chukka Ramaiah saw a silver lining in Sibal’s proposal. He said that one single board will help rural students to compete with students in the cities. Meanwhile, sounding a word of caution, education expert G Haragopal said that a new system should be in place before the exams are abolished.

However, the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Jubilee Hills, Principal B Rama Devi was not in favour of abolishing the Class X Boards.  She said that Class X boards are the first and basic level of assessment and if they are scrapped, children would not know where they stand.

Sri Chaitanya Group of Institutions chairman B S Rao said that promoting students to higher classes without conducting exams was not a good move. He said that the children will become goalless and undisciplined. Government must reduce the syllabus instead of scrapping the exam, Rao said.

Narayana of Narayana Group of Institutions felt scrapping of Class X boards may result in decline in academic standards. “Without competition, we cannot expect the best from anyone,” Narayana said.
      
Even some parents are unhappy with the move. One of them opined that one could not do away with the exam altogether. She favoured the change in valuation method but not scrapping it totally.

Sibal’s move has drawn mixed reactions from the states too. Though BJP government in Gujarat has welcomed it, Left Front government in West Bengal and Kerala have opposed it. Punjab seeks continuation of Class X boards, while Maharashtra calls for a discussion on the subject. In Andhra Pradesh, secondary education minister Manikya Varaprasada Rao said a decision will be taken only after studying the proposal in detail.

Andhra Pradesh intermediate education department official said that the problem under the state board is that there is no provision for Class XI and XII. “Instead, students go to junior colleges, which will obviously not take students based on internal assessments of schools. So does that mean that schools have to introduce Classes XI and XII or will students have to take board exams which they don’t want to,” he queried.

Scrapping of Class X boards is welcome, and students studying common syllabus across the country is put into practice as Sibal proposes, preparing for different exams having different syllabi will be neutralised, the student can concentrate and achieve better.