CBSE does away with merit lists for Class 10, 12

CBSE permanently stops announcing merit lists for classes 10 and 12 to avoid unhealthy competition among students and reduce the importance of board exams.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to permanently do away with the practice of announcing merit lists of toppers of classes 10 and 12 examinations to avoid “unhealthy competition” among students, officials at the board said on Friday.

The CBSE’s decision to continue with the policy of not announcing merit lists has received mixed reviews from the stakeholders. (HT Archive)

The board released the results for both classes on Friday and did not announce the merit list for the fourth year in a row.

“The decision has been taken keeping students’ interest in mind. The board has decided to do away with the practice of releasing the merit list of toppers permanently,” said a senior CBSE official, requesting anonymity.

In a statement issued, the CBSE said that the board is not awarding first, second, or third divisions to the students either. “According to the earlier decision of the board, to avoid unhealthy competition among students, no merit list is declared by the CBSE. The board is not awarding first, second, and third divisions either. However, the board will issue merit certificates to the 0.1% of students who have scored the highest marks,” the statement said.

CBSE stopped announcing merit lists or names of national toppers in 2020 for the first time. The board had cited “a change in the evaluation criteria” as the reason as the results were announced using the average of marks in the exams conducted before the Covid-19 lockdown. Many exams in India and abroad were cancelled given the lockdown.

Similarly, in 2021, when the exams could not be held because of the pandemic, and students were evaluated based on the Supreme Court-approved tabulation policy, the board did not release the merit list citing the same reason.

Later, in 2022, when the board exams were held in two terms, the board did not announce the merit list of toppers citing its attempt to avoid “unhealthy competition”.

The CBSE’s decision to continue with the policy of not announcing merit lists has received mixed reviews from the stakeholders.

The principal of a CBSE-affiliated school in Delhi, requesting anonymity, said that it may reduce the importance of board exams among students. “The introduction of the Common University Entrance Test has already reduced the importance of CBSE exams. Now that the board has stopped announcing national toppers, it can be discouraging for hard-working students,” the principal said.

Meanwhile, others echoed CBSE’s viewpoint. “The board’s decision is in students’ interest as it will reduce the unhealthy competition among students,” said Tania Joshi, principal of The Indian School, Delhi.

Naisha Manchanda, 16, who secured 99.8%, said, “Everyone has done well and I don’t think names of toppers should be declared since it creates unhealthy competition. The current practice of not giving out names does not burden students.”