CBSE, CISCE thinking of reducing syllabus by 50%, delaying board exams

KEY STORY

• CBSE and CISCE are thinking about reducing the syllabus for the 2020-21 board exams even further — to 50% instead of a 30% cut as decided earlier.

• The national education boards are also thinking of delaying the board exams by 45-60 days since schools haven’t reopened yet and only online classes are being carried out. However, neither of these plans have been finalised yet.

• The central government has issued guidelines for reopening schools and colleges. Those in non-containment zones can reopen schools in phases from October 15.

• The decision and method have been left to the state governments as per the local requirements.

• But since many parents are against sending their children to schools and the Covid-19 situation in India isn’t stable yet, it is highly likely that schools are not reopening in full fervour anytime soon as attendance remains very low.

• Syllabus reduction and possible board exam delay

• The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) reduced the syllabus by 30% for class 10 and class 12 students back in July.

• CBSE said that no board exam questions would be set from the deleted topics but schools were free to teach those to students as per the academic calendar provided by NCERT. It has also released the CBSE sample papers based on the reduced CBSE syllabus.

• Following CBSE and CISCE, several state boards also followed suit and reduced their syllabus by 25% to 30%.

• Speaking to TOI, a senior CBSE official said that since normal classes still haven’t resumed, CBSE might reduce the syllabus further for the 2021 board exams. He said that the board would take a call soon whether the board exams would be conducted with 70% syllabus or with 50% syllabus.

• He added that since the standard of online classes varied greatly across urban, semi-urban and rural schools, physical classes would need to begin before the situation could be reviewed and a decision can be taken.

• He said that the board exams might be shifted to April to accommodate syllabus completion, and that schools have also been asking CBSE to reduce syllabus and delay board exams.

• Gerry Arathoon, chief executive, CISCE, said in a media report that there was a possibility of CISCE reducing syllabus further for the 2020-21 academic year looking at the present Covid-19 situation. But he added there it couldn’t be said yet how much syllabus reduction could take place.

• A delay in board exams could push back the entire academic year and affect a lot of other factors and a syllabus reduction may be an easier solution. The education ministry still has to take a final call regarding this problem.