Std X board exams optional for CBSE students

In a decision that is likely to revolutionise the school education system, the Council of Boards of School Education in India (Cobse) has decided in principle to make the standard X board examinations optional. The alternative it has suggested is a grading system to evaluate students. The move, along with Cobse’s suggestion of a uniform curriculum for mathematics and science, is meant to prevent students from dropping out and reduce stress on them.

Since the move was an initiative of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Cobse has decided that, to begin with, all CBSE schools will implement the continuous comprehensive evaluation system from 2010 with other boards trying it after observing CBSE’s experience. State boards agreed to adopt the grading system within three years; a team of experts will be formed to help the boards. All boards in the country, including state boards, are part of Cobse, which is headed by the chairman of CBSE.

Cobse’s decision will affect more than 127,000 secondary and senior secondary schools. While most Cobse members were against scrapping the standard X board examinations, all agreed to make them optional for students who wanted a change of school or wanted to explore other avenues of education.

According to the CBSE’s roadmap, students who wish to continue in the same school till standard XII need not appear for the standard X board examinations. Instead, they will be evaluated through an internal examination, based on which any one of science, commerce and arts streams can be allotted. “While state boards were sceptical about the move, they appreciated the initiative. They need time to adjust,” said Prof PC Vyas, consultant and a former director, Cobse.