The Delhi government has put forward a suggestion to the Central Board of Secondary Education to NOT conduct the CBSE board exams 2021 before the month of May.ย
Generally, the board exams are conducted in the month of March every year. However, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, studies in the current academic year have suffered a major setback. Even the students who are forced to study from home through the online classes have been complaining of numerous challenges. While the Delhi Government has appreciated the efforts of teachers during this unprecedented time, the officials have come to a conclusion that the current online teaching facilities cannot replace the physical teaching learning process.ย
Considering this, the Directorate of Education, on behalf of the Delhi Government, wrote a letter to CBSE to not schedule the 2021 board exams before May next year. The letter quotes –
โDue to the Covid 19 pandemic, a major chunk of time in the 2020-21 academic session could not be utilised for classroom teaching-learning process as schools in Delhi are closed till October 31.โ
โThough online, semi-online teaching learning activities are being conducted through live classes as well as worksheets or activity sheets but it cannot replace the physical classroom teaching processโ.
Further, DOE has requested the CBSE to reduce the board exam syllabus to lessen the burden on the students, who are less likely to experience face-to-face teaching before November or even December 2020. The CBSE had curtailed 30% of the syllabus for the CBSE board exams, back when the schools were anticipated to reopen in July or August. However, now that the schools in Delhi are less likely to open any time before November 2020, the Delhi government has urged the CBSE to reduce the syllabus for the CBSE board exams 2021 further.ย
DOE has also requested CBSE to prepare new sample papers for the students, aligned with the reduced syllabus for the session 2020-21 and make them available to the students at the earliest.ย
DOE wrote – โPractical and project work are an integral part of any subject that include assessment of desired skills and competencies. It is pertinent to give students hands-on practice for the same for a sufficient period of time. It is requested that the board may provide detailed guidelines regarding the conduct of these practical exams under such conditions or any other alternate mode to replace the practical part of the subjectโ.
