Pvt schools seek reduced weightage for term-1 test

CBSE is yet to fix the weightage for term 1 board exams for class 10 and 12. It said last week this will be decided after final test

Days after CBSE shared the Term-1 results of classes 10 and 12, a group representing several private schools in the Capital has written to the CBSE chairperson Vineet Joshi, urging him to give a reduced weightage for CBSE Term-1 and Term-2 examinations for the 2021-22 academic year as several schools allegedly used malpractices to help students score better.

A few government school administrators also said they supported a reduced weightage to Term-1 exams, albeit for different reasons.

To be sure, CBSE is yet to decide weightage for the Term-1 and Term-2 tests, with a circular issued last week noting that it will be decided only after the final test.

The National Progressive School Conference (NPSC), an organisation of over 122 private schools in the city, said the Term-I examinations were conducted at home centres, due to which many schools allegedly resorted to unfair means.

In view of the pandemic, CBSE had announced a two-term board exam for this year, with Term-1 featuring a 90-minute multiple-choice questions (MCQ) test. The Term-2 theory examinations will begin on April 26 and will comprise a two-hour-long subjective exam.

In its letter to the CBSE chairperson, NPSC sought a 20-30% weightage for Term-1 examination scores in the final board result. “Unfortunately, the performance of students of the schools where the exams were conducted with complete honesty and integrity has not been at par with the aforementioned (schools). This has adversely affected the morale of all stakeholders,” wrote NPSC chairperson Sudha Acharya, who is also the principal of ITL Public School, Dwarka.

Richa Sharma Agnihotri, principal of Sanskriti School, said that schools had received a short window to train students for the Term-1 exam and there were concerns around the manner in which the exam had been administered across different schools. “One also hears that there are schools where children have scored full marks due to the manner in which the exam was conducted. Amid these doubts, giving massive weightage to Term-1 will not be fair to other children who have given the exam with honesty,” she said.

Jyoti Arora, principal of Mount Abu Public School in Rohini, pointed out that the situation during the Term-1 examination was not conducive due to which some students might not have been prepared.

A few government school administrators also said they supported a reduced weightage to Term-1 exams, albeit for different reasons.

“The MCQ-based examination is not an efficient method of assessment as against a subjective test,” said Awadhesh Kumar Jha, principal, Sarvodaya Co-ed Vidyalaya, Rohini, Sector 8.

In response to queries seeking a comment, a CBSE spokesperson referred to the circular issued by the board on Saturday.

In its written statement following the Class 12 Term-1 result, CBSE outlined that the weightage given to the Term-1 and 2 performances will be decided at the time of declaration of the Term-2 result.