Unfair to keep students under pressure till June: Priyanka on CBSE exams

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday said CBSE board exams must be cancelled for Class 12 as has been done for Class 10 and asserted that keeping the students "under pressure" till June is "unfair".

Her remarks came soon after the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced that exams for Class 10 have been cancelled and those for Class 12 have been postponed in view of the surge in COVID-19 cases in the country. The exams were scheduled to be held from May 4.

"The Class 12 exams have been postponed and a review of the situation will be done after June 1. Students will be given at least a 15-day notice before the exams are conducted," a Ministry of Education official said.

Reacting to the development, Priyanka Gandhi said, "Glad the government has finally cancelled the 10th standard exams. However, a final decision MUST be taken for the 12th grade too."

"Keeping students under undue pressure until June makes no sense. It's unfair. I urge the government to decide now," the Congress general secretary tweeted.

Priyanka Gandhi had on Sunday written to the education minister seeking cancellation of the CBSE Board exams, saying it will be impossible to ensure the safety of students at crowded exam centres.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had also urged the government earlier this week to cancel the exams.

Earlier on Wednesday, Priyanka Gandhi had reiterated her call for cancelling the CBSE exams, saying the Centre must not ignore the voice of students and call off the tests due to the COVID-19 situation in the country.

In a Facebook post, she said that in the past few days, she heard from many students across the country who raised some important issues related to the examinations amid the second wave of COVID-19.

They say that in the last days leading up to the examinations, there is already pressure of preparation and now there was additional pressure of protection against the virus on them, according to Priyanka Gandhi.

"Along with that, there is also the danger of safety of teachers engaged in exam duty and families of students," the Congress general secretary said.

Many countries have come out with several new methods of assessment in this emergency, she noted.

The decision on the CBSE exams was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.