Page 16 - EW March 2025

Education News

who head the global operations of evaluation will compel
GEMS Education, it will be a long school managements to
haul before the new Adani GEMS reduce classroom teach-
Schools of Excellence will be able to ing time. The outcome will
best the CISCE, Cambridge (UK) and be to drive students into
International Baccalaureate-affiliat- coaching schools rather
ed Dhirubhai Ambani International than eliminate and reduce
School, Mumbai (estb. 2003) in the dependence on them which
public perception. DAIS is acknowl- is the stated objective of
edged by IB, Geneva as among the this proposal,” says Chan-
Top 10 IB schools worldwide, and der.
has been routinely ranked India’s Dr. Sudha Acharya,
#1 international day school in the principal of the CBSE-af-
annual EducationWorld India School CBSE exam students: second chance filiated ITL Public School,
Rankings — the world’s largest and Dwarka, Delhi and former
most comprehensive school rankings the need for undertaking coaching chairperson of the National Progres-
survey — for over ten years. classes,” “eliminate the high stakes sive Schools Conference (NPSC)
Meanwhile, the imminent com- aspect of Board Exams” and provide which comprises 201 CBSE-affiliat-
petition likely to be posed by Adani- “greater flexibility, student choice, ed schools, also envisages practical
GEMS schools to DAIS is certain to and best-of-two attempts”. Accord- problems relating to staging two class
do India’s laggard school education ing to the notice, students rewriting X exams per year. According to her,
system a world of good. the class X exam will write it from the when schools designated as CBSE
Megha Chowdhury (Mumbai) previous exam centre and will pay an exam centres stage two exams annu-
“enhanced fee”. A short time window ally, the number of days for classroom
DELHI until March 9 has been provided for teaching-learning will be reduced to a
Double trouble feedback from stakeholders and the mere 100 against the 210 mandated
public.
by the Right of Children to Free and
The short time window for feed- Compulsory Education (RTE) Act,
public notice issued on Febru- back indicates that to all intents and 2009, if school closures on account
ary 25 by the Central Board of purposes it is a fait accompli. In this of national holidays, pollution, harsh
A Secondary Education (CBSE) connection, it’s noteworthy that while weather etc “which have become fre-
— India’s largest national school- children in India have only one option quent in recent years” are added.
leaving examinations board which to write do-or-die school-leaving ex- “While two exams provide stu-
has 30,700 Central government and ams, Cambridge International’s GCSE dents an opportunity to improve their
upscale private schools affiliated with and ‘A’ level exams can be written scores, students may be pressured to
it — to the effect that it will conduct twice per year and the International write them twice to further improve
two class X school-leaving exams from Baccalaureate Diploma exam three their scores. With the examinations
start of this academic year (2025-26), times annually. season stretching to a period of ap-
has provoked mixed reactions. While CBSE’s two class X exams proximately four months — February
From next year onward, students per year policy has been welcomed by to May — the teaching calendar will
can write or rewrite the class X exam students and parents, school manage- go for a toss. Moreover, teachers will
— whose results determine entry into ments anticipate a host of implemen- have to evaluate exam papers twice
top-ranked junior college/higher sec- tation difficulties and adverse impact every year which means they can’t
ondary classes — between February on teaching-learning. According to utilise the summer vacations for per-
17-March 6 and/or May 5-20. Accord- Suresh Chander, founder-manag- sonal and professional growth,” says
ing to the CBSE notice, students can ing director of the Grand Columbus Acharya
write the whole exam again or rewrite International School, Faridabad and cademics also fear that staging
subject papers in which they didn’t President of the Haryana Progres- Aclass X exams twice per year, is
fare well. The higher average score sive Schools Conference, which has actually a trial balloon for also staging
will be certified as final. a membership of over 500 CBSE- the more important class XII exam,
The rationale of this proposal is affiliated schools, “ground realities the results of which determine entry
a directive of the National Educa- aren’t conducive” for the prolonged into the country’s top-ranked under-
tion Policy (NEP) 2020 paragraphs examinations schedule proposed by grad colleges. If successfully imple-
4.37 and 4.38 which mandate two CBSE. “With exams stretched over mented, the twice-per-year class X
school-leaving exams to “eliminate two months, deploying teachers for exam will be abolished in favour of two

16 EDUCATIONWORLD MARCH 2025