Without boards, chinks are showing

NEW DELHI: Many parents of children studying in Class X are suffering from a severe bout of anxiety these days because this will be the first batch that will not be appearing for the board exams. They consider their children to be no less than guinea pigs because of the way the system has been changed and the lack of clarity on various issues. The schools too seem to be mechanically following what the government has laid down and have no clear answers.
The old debate of whether it was wise to scrap the board exams has re-surfaced.Some parents believe the system of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) is not being implemented properly and that the teachers are not equipped to deal with it. This is only adding to the stress rather than doing away with it.
"I think boards should have been compulsory. Students are not taking studies seriously. With CCE, students are supposed to be active on all fronts to get good grades. I also fear that the stress of a board exam will get aggravated when they appear for the Class XII boards,'' said Barkha Ahuja, a parent whose son is studying in Ryan International.
Many are also complaining that the schools have not informed them about the Aptitude Test and Proficiency Test that can be taken by the students besides the summative assessment that will happen at the level of the school.
A parent of a child studying in a prominent Noida public school said, "I was not aware of the Aptitude Test. Though it is an option and is not compulsory, we should at least have been informed about the test.'' Ahuja agreed: "Even Ihad no idea about the Aptitude Test. The school has not shared any information.''
Even parents who are well-informed about the options and are not so concerned by the scrapping of the boards are worried about the method that will be used to decide streams for students in Class XI.
Gurdev Singh, whose daughter studies in Father Agnel, Gautam Nagar, said, "Term-end summative in Class X is fine. I am not worried about that. But I would definitely like to have more clarity on how the streams will be decided by schools for students in Class XI. My child is taking the Aptitude Test and I have heard that almost all her classmates are appearing for it. So will the Aptitude Test results count or will the stream be decided solely on the basis of the grades scored by students in the exams conducted by the school?''
Navneet of St Anthony school said, "My parents are worried about how the streams will be decided by the school as there won't be any CBSE marks. They are also feeling stressed as students are saddled with many projects under the CCE system.''
Times City spoke to a class of 25 students from 13 private schools at a private coaching institute in Gautam Nagar. Ten of these students were not aware of the Aptitude Test. Only one of the 25 students was going to sit for the Class X board exams as he plans to change boards after Class X.
"Though I feel CCE is a sound method of enhancing positive pressure among students, it should be a transparent system where students, parents and teachers can commonly analyze its benefits,'' said Amit Bhalla, a private tutore. "Aptitude, proficiency and boards are altogether different tests and there is a lot of confusion. Also the study pattern is getting limited. I also feel that most of the students would have preferred to appear for Class X boards if the schools had allowed them.''
manash.gohain@timesgroup.com