BOARD EXAMS 2020: A calculated risk or a gamble?

While governments across the world are scrambling to contain what is perhaps the worst

pandemic in recent history, most Indian students face the very real possibility of having to

risk their well-being to complete their board examinations. Although the final examinations

for IB and IGCSE students of grades, X and XII were swiftly canceled in light of the COVID-

19 pandemic, the majority of Indian students, who belong to schools which are affiliated with

the CISCE, CBSE or State Boards, might be at risk of contracting the coronavirus during

their examinations.

What is particularly concerning about the Covid-19 situation in India is the fact that when

compared to countries that report similar numbers of cases, India conducts significantly

fewer tests. For instance, when compared to Spain which reports roughly 300,000 total

cases, India has found over 330,000 cases after having conducted fewer than 4,500 tests per

one million individuals. This is approximately a meager 1/20 that of the number of tests reported by Spain and most other countries with a similar amount of active cases.

One can clearly infer from these statistics that in reality, the true magnitude of Covid-19 cases in India is bound to be significantly greater than reported. When coupled with the relaxation of the lockdown measures, the spread of the deadly virus is predicted by experts to reach its peak in the coming weeks and is expected to be worsened by the approaching monsoon season.

Notably, this forecasted spike in cases coincides with the scheduled dates for the remaining

board exams in July. Realizing the grim reality that the worst of the pandemic is yet to come with the recent spike in cases, concerned parents and students alike took to social media platforms, demanding that the remaining exams are canceled altogether as was done by the IB and IGCSE boards. When it became evident that this would not be sufficient to sway the relevant educational bodies, groups of parents filed Public Interest Litigation (PIL) suits against the CICSE and CBSE boards at the Supreme Court of India as well as the Mumbai High Court.

The petitions argue that the ability of the virus to spread asymptomatically would endanger

hundreds of thousands of students by enabling community transmission. They further argue

that adequate social distancing standards simply cannot be adhered to uniformly at all of the

exam centers throughout the country, especially in rural areas. Additionally, safety measures

such as gloves, masks, and sanitizers are not completely effective in practice or simply might

not be available in some regions. Furthermore, proposed measures such as restricting the

usage of lavatories would cause students extreme discomfort during longer examinations.

The responses of the two concerned boards to these petitions have been varied and rather

concerning, to say the least. The CBSE board made the concession of allowing students living within containment zones to appear for their exams at a later date. They shall also be

allowing students to write their examinations at their respective schools instead of external

examination centers by increasing the number of centers by almost double their previous

amount.

However, parents have argued that this would only serve to dilute the ability of the

board to arrange and maintain sufficiently safe environments for their students at each of

these examination centers.

Meanwhile, the CISCE released a circular in response to the petition that all of its students

would be given the option of choosing how their marks would be awarded for any remaining

exams. They may either appear for the remaining examinations or request that the marks they have obtained through internal assessment exams be used to ascertain their final grades. This announcement caused an outcry amongst ICSE and ISC students alike. This is due to the extremely common practice of designing particularly challenging papers for students of grades X and XII throughout the regular school year in preparation for their board exams. This would unfairly disadvantage a significant portion of students who might otherwise score much higher in their boards, essentially coercing them into risking their safety by attending their exams. Disturbing reports have also been circulated following the announcement that several schools are demanding that their students opt to write the board exams. The disapproval towards conducting the exams was shared by the government of

Maharashtra, the worst affected of all states in India. Representing the state, Advocate

Ashutosh Kumbhakoni argued to the Mumbai High Court that it was simply not feasible to

conduct the scheduled examinations. In response to which the CISCE argued through an

affidavit that it did not require the approval of the state government to conduct examinations.

Following which the state government warned the Mumbai High Court on the 16th of June

that it would simply not allow the examinations to be conducted.

Meanwhile, on 17th June, the Supreme Court agreed with an earlier decision of the Karnataka High Court, affirming that constitutional courts do not have the right to interfere in

educational matters (referring to a plea to cancel State Board exams in the state). This

extremely alarming decision is being considered by many to reflect the likely outcome of the

ongoing proceedings regarding the CISCE and CBSE board exams. This comes at a time

when the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia announced that the government

expects the total number of cases to rise past 550,000 by July.

While it cannot be overlooked that these examinations have, over time, become an integral

part of the Indian education system, these are unprecedented circumstances after all. This

reasoning naturally also extends to any sort of examinations being held in person at centers

across the country. Notably, the states of Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana have already

canceled the grade X examinations for their students. The most viable and logical option for

these boards might be to follow the example of the IB and IGCSE boards and accept

predicted grades for all students which may be provided by their respective institutions.

To view this issue as one that concerns only the student population would be a grave error in

judgment on the part of the government. For it is not only the safety of these students that

would be at risk but also that of their families and any individuals they might come into

contact with. This is certainly not a matter to take lightly and calculated risk is simply not

worth it in the current scenario. Yet, considering the recent developments, this perspective is

evidently not shared by the CISCE and CBSE boards. This leaves us fairly confident that the

greatest question on every Indian student’s mind at the moment is probably whether these

boards and the government have their priorities in order.