CBSE restricts school-based assessment to online

A week after the cancellation of the Class 12 board examinations, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Monday allowed schools to complete the pending practicals and internal assessment in online mode.

Several schools across India had said that they had been unable to conduct practical exams or internal assessment due to closure during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. On Monday, the national board asked these schools to conduct the pending tests in “only online” mode and submit the marks to the board by June 28.

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For the subjects requiring practicals, the external examiner will decide on the date for an online viva voce in consultation with the internal examiner. The board has asked schools to share the date of exams with students “well in advance” and share the link of the “online meeting” on the exam day.

“Regarding subjects for which the external examiner has not been appointed, the concerned school teacher of the subject will conduct the internal assessment based on the instructions given in the curriculum in online mode and upload the marks awarded at the link provided by the board,” CBSE Controller of Examination Sanyam Bhardwaj said in a letter to schools on Monday.

Schools have also been asked to take an on-screen photograph of the online meeting with the student, external examiner, and internal examiner as a part of records.

“Both the examiners should keep in mind that the marks allotted should not bunch towards the maximum marks which is highly unlikely in view of diverse levels of students,” Bhardwaj said.

Addressing concerns of the existing digital divide and its impact on the internals, Bhardwaj told HT, “We have taken the decision in consultation with the schools and they said they have made the necessary arrangements. Covid-19 protocols have to be followed very strictly. Only if any state government has allowed students to come to schools, principals may call such students to conduct the tests.”

Awadhesh Kumar Jha, principal of a Delhi government school in Rohini, said, “The online tests will be a problem because all students don’t have devices and we had experienced this while conducting online classes in the past year. Timing is another concern. If the parent is a daily wage labourer, they may be out for work with the only smartphone. We will try to figure out a way to resolve this.”