Setting to rest the concerns of CBSE students’ folk

Parents of students in schools that follow the curriculum of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) were a worried lot.

The CBSE had recently introduced numerous reforms, including the school-based continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) process at the secondary level, and gradual phasing out of board examinations in Class X. It had also replaced marks with grades, and parents wondered if their children would be better off.

More than 200 parents of children in CBSE schools gathered at the BBUL Jain Vidyalaya, KR Road, Shankarapuram, on Monday to have their queries on the examination reforms answered. The session was organised by the CBSE after parents, teachers and other stakeholders appeared worried by the changes, and sought repeated assurances that children would not be adversely affected.

Dr Sadhana Parashar, head of innovation and research,  CBSE, assured parents that the changes would not be detrimental. “The reforms do not affect the process of evaluation. Students who wish to change from the CBSE to another board will face no difficulty,” she said.

Vinit Joshi, chairperson of CBSE, was initially supposed to attend the session, but later cancelled the plan, citing engagements elsewhere. An anxious parent, Prabha Gupta, said that she was unsure if her son would be able to cope with the new system of assessment. “My son is a student of Class IX. I’m not sure that doing away with the board exams would be good for him,” she said.

Vimal Singh, another parent of a student of Class IX, said that introducing the grading system might actually harm students, as they would find it hard to move from one school to another.

Manju Sharma, principal, Delhi Public School (DPS), Bangalore South, who also attended the interactive session, said that the move to introduce comprehensive and continuous evaluation of students was a positive move. It would greatly reduce the workload of students, and provide room for activities that are not strictly academic to be worked into the evaluation process. “The assessment process would also take cognisance of such things as dexterity, innovation, teamwork, public speaking, and behaviour,” said Sharma.

Such interactive sessions are planned in different cities. “There has been a consistent demand from parents, teachers, school managers and directors for an interactive session with the chairperson of the CBSE. Parents have wished to offer their opinions on changes, and also seek clarifications on issues of concern. The CBSE will thus hold a series of interactive sessions in different cities to cover the different regions of the country,” an official said.

The session was an eye-opener even for members of the CBSE board. “Along with addressing complaints, the board members have also taken home some of the ideas the parents, teachers and experts shared,” said SA Sridevi, principal, BBUL Jain Vidyalaya.