Decision irks academicians, students in Tamil Nadu

Usha Hemagiri, Principal of a CBSE school Vels Vidyashram, Mylapore, told DTNext, “We are very upset with this decision. The students are disappointed too. Why should all students suffer if the paper was leaked somewhere in the north?” She also said that most students from her school were very happy with the papers and had written the exams well. “It will be extremely difficult for the students to sit for the examinations afresh with the same mind set,” Hemagiri said.

After the CBSE’s announcement to re-conduct Class 10 Maths and Class 12 Economics papers after a ‘leak’, parents of students in the city said that the move would hit both them and the children hard.

“The board officials should approach the police and take severe action against those who responsible for the question paper leak. Instead of doing that, they simply nullified the exams. This will not only affect the students but also the parents,” said S Narayanan, the secretary of a parents-teacher association of a private school in Pammal. He added that the CBSE authorities should have consulted the parents’ associations before taking the decision. 

Narayanan said that he would consult with other parents-teachers’ associations across the city on moving court against the CBSE order. 

“If we don’t, someone else will definitely approach the court”, he said. “My Maths exam had gone well. I was expecting about 80%. It is extremely disappointing that I need to take the exams again,” said Dinesh Kumar, a Class 10 student. He added that he was not sure whether the exam would go well for him the second time. 

Similarly, S Manivanan, a Class 12 student, said, “The Economics paper was easy. Preparing for the exam and taking it again is quite stressful. I do not feel like going through the books again,” he said. This is not the first time that this batch of students had to undergo hardships. 

The board decided to change the approach from half-year to full year portions, at one go and the exam dates were also announced late this year. 

Parents said that the news came as a rude shock to the students who were relieved with the end of exams and were gearing up for their vacation plans. “This is complete unprofessionalism on the part of CBSE,” said Anamika Iyengar, whose daughter Aishani took the exam this year. 

S Gomathi, another parent of a Class 10 student said that her daughter’s plan of visiting her grandparents after the exams had to be put on hold because of this development. 

“She was angry with the CBSE decision. She has to reschedule her tour programme,” she said. In a statement released on wednesday, the CBSE said that the board has taken cognisance of certain illegal happenings in the conduct of certain examinations being reported. 

“To uphold the sanctity of the board examinations and in the  interest of the fairness to the  students, the board has decided to reconduct the examinations in the subjects,” it said.