All in favour of no Class X examination

No more Class X examinations for those who do not want to take them. And a system of grades to get you to Class XI. Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said on Thursday that he had not forgotten the trauma he faced when appearing for the dreaded ‘boards’ (board examinations).

No more Class X examinations for those who do not want to take them. And a system of grades to get you to Class XI.

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Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said on Thursday that he had not forgotten the trauma he faced when appearing for the dreaded ‘boards’ (board examinations).

As a result, Sibal who assumed charge recently as the minister of education policies, unveiled a plan to make Class X examinations optional and a grading system, which would reduce stress on class 10 students.

“I’ve also gone through the trauma of examinations. This traumatic experience is unacceptable. We want that marks should be replaced by grades in CBSE schools… I’ve seen children commit suicide due to poor marks. I don’t think children in our country should study under pressure,” he said.

Sibal said while he wished he could do away with Class XII examinations too — replacing these with a single country wide examination for entrance to colleges — this was not part of the immediate agenda.

The Class X stress reduction programme is to be worked out in 100 days starting from Thursday.
Teachers, students, parents, and school principals for the most part welcomed the decision alike.
Springdales School (Pusa Road) Principal, Ameeta Wattal said: “Many of us educationists had been suggesting this for a long time now. Students face two board examinations in a gap of just one year.”

The Principal of St Mary’s School, Annie Koshy, pointed out that there was some ambiguity on exactly what Sibal had said. “There is a bit of confusion about examinations and assessments. The minister has said that the Class X examinations should be made optional but as far as I could understand, he hasn’t ruled out assessments of students,” Koshy said.

Neha Sharma, a Class X student, is extremely happy about Sibal’s plans. “I just hope that they can make this rule come into force by this year so that next year I will not have to give board exams,” she said.