The recent decision of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to not award any division or distinction to students in the classes 10 and 12 board exams has triggered anger among students and parents in Delhi-NCR.
What’s the decision
CBSE has said this in a statement, adding that the admitting college will take a call on the best five subjects for calculating marks of the students instead.
“If a candidate has offered more than five subjects, the decision to determine the best five subjects may be taken by the admitting institution or employer. Further, it is informed that the Board does not calculate/declare/ inform percentage of marks. If the percentage of marks is required for higher education or in employment the calculation if any, may be done by admitting institution or employer,” the Board said in a release.
In fact, last year too, CBSE decided not to issue any merit list of students while declaring the results for classes 10 and 12 board exams. The board too refrained from announcing any toppers for classes 10 and 12 in the last academic year.
Students and parents have come down heavily on CBSE for taking such an “absurd” decision without consulting the stakeholders.
“It’s playing with the future of students who study hard to get distinction or division based on grades to get admission into the best colleges and universities in India and the world as well. How can the board take such an unilateral decision suddenly without consulting students and teachers,” asks Rheaa Singh, a Class X student of Heritage School.
With each passing day, CBSE is announcing “absurd” decisions, says Indranil Borah, a student of DPS Delhi. “It’s like a banana republic, the board is taking decisions on its own without even thinking about the implications. Along with grades, divisions and distinctions are integral part of our marks-based merit system of education,” he adds.
Parents too are angry with the Board’s decision to do away with divisions and distinctions. “It seems CBSE has become an autocratic body from an autonomous body. How can you take such a decision when getting admission in a good college or university is linked to grades apart from entrance too,” says Surindra Kumar, a parent whose daughter is a Class XII student.
Some parents want the Board to revoke the decision. “We would want them to give a second thought and reverse the decision that may affect the future of hundreds of thousands of students in this country,” says Ayan Singh, a parent of a DPS Delhi student.