Delaying board exams will hamper college admissions: Principals

New Delhi, May 24 (PTI):
The proposal to conduct Class 12 board exams in July-August with the evaluation process stretching up to September, if accepted, will hamper the college admission schedule and may affect plans of the students who wish to study abroad, according to school principals.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has proposed conducting the exams between July 15 and August 26 and the result to be declared in September.
In a high-level meeting, the board also proposed two options: conducting regular exams for only major subjects at notified centres or holding shorter-duration exams at the school where a student is enrolled.
“The new proposal is likely to cause a ripple effect in the education space, as a delay in holding board exams leads to a delay in college applications, admissions and the start of the new academic year. If there won’t be enough gap between the board exams and university entrances, then the students won’t get time to prepare for their entrance exams,” Rajat Goel, Director, MRG School, Rohini told PTI.
“We all are aware the Covid situation is highly unpredictable, we can never be sure about the situation at that time. Keeping this in mind, delaying the exam and hence the result is not suggestive. Delaying the examinations again and again puts the students under a constant mental pressure which can have adverse effects, he added.
The principal of a top school in Gurgaon who did not wish to be identified said the academic calendar in America, Canada, New Zealand and the UK begins usually in September.
“I am not sure if students who wish to study abroad will be able to take admission in September edition. While board exams scores have limited impact on foreign university admissions, passing Class 12 is definitely a must. The whole calendar may go for a toss in Indian universities and colleges too,” she said.
Pallavi Upadhyaya, Principal, DPS-RNE Ghaziabad, believes that the idea to reduce duration of exams from three hours to 90 minutes will not be helpful as the virus takes only seconds to infect.
“I still feel there should not be any board exams this year. If the examination is going to be conducted offline, then whether the paper is going to be for three hours or 90 minutes, would be immaterial as the virus needs only seconds to infect. Also there is a talk of a third wave of the pandemic which we understand would affect the children more. So, is it wise to expose them? she said.
According to Sangeeta Hajela, Principal, DPS Indirapuram, the delayed schedule will delay the academic session in colleges and universities but it can be balanced by curtailing vacations and extending the session by few months.