Walking the tightrope on evaluation approach

The cancellation of the Class 12 examination by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations has put an end to the anxieties of students, parents and teachers of being infected by the COVID-19 virus but not their confusion over admission into colleges. The decision by the Central Government to cancel the board examinations were taken hurriedly without working out the modalities of evaluation which has added to the anxieties of the students and parents over their career goals. State boards of Rajasthan. Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh have also cancelled the class 12 board examination but there is no clarity on evaluation and declaration of results based on which the colleges will admit students into various undergraduate courses. The evaluation will also be critical for getting admissions into various medical, engineering colleges and the Indian Institute of Technology besides various professional courses. The Assam government has decided to wait for the CBSE's evaluation policy before deciding on the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examination to be conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) and the Higher Secondary Examinations to be conducted by the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC). Varying degrees of the pandemic situation in states made it difficult for CBSE and CISCE to conduct the offline examinations as it could have put students in states or areas with high infection to the risk of contracting the infection. This is not the case in the case of state boards as the decision can be based on the prevailing pandemic situation in the respective state. Both SEBA and AHSEC have announced that they are ready to hold offline examinations in 15 days notice. The Assam Government, SEBA and AHSEC are keen to conduct the final examinations in offline mode after the pandemic situation improves as they are worried over the complexities of evaluation in the event of cancellation of examinations on the line of CBSE. The principal argument advanced to push for offline examinations in the state is unlike CBSE affiliated schools, internal and periodic assessments do not provide a level playing field for all schools affiliated to SEBA and all schools and colleges affiliated to AHSEC. Besides, the lack of access to the internet, more particularly in many areas in rural Assam makes it difficult to conduct the board examinations in online mode. Even though the COVID-19 positivity rate has declined spread of infection and rural areas and tea garden areas have added an element of uncertainty in a pandemic situation in the state. The State Government cannot afford to delay the decision on HSLC and Higher Secondary examinations for an uncertain period. Delay in evaluation and results may shatter the dreams of students who are planning to pursue undergraduate courses in colleges outside the state under various central or state universities. Instead of waiting for the CBSE to release its modalities of evaluation for class 12, the SEBA and AHSEC evolving in advance its evaluation policy instead of offline examination will be more pragmatic. This will help avoid undue delay in declaring results in the event the COVID-19 situation leads to the cancellation of the examinations. States need to urge the Central Government to impress upon the CBSE and various central universities to take into consideration the evaluation of students of various state boards before rushing with the evaluation modalities and admission process. An early decision by the Ministry of Education on the pending editions of the Joint Entrance Examination (Main) and JEE (Advanced) and clarity on standardization of different evaluation by CBSE and state boards will end the suspense for the students who will have to take the examination for admission to various undergraduate engineering, architecture and technical courses. Clamour for cancellation of HSLC and Higher Secondary Examinations growing in the state can be attributed to anxieties of students and parents because of the prevailing pandemic situation. The State government is aware of the pitfalls of a hasty decision as it involves the career goals of students and may complicate the college admission process. Ensuring a level playing field for every student in the alternative evaluation process is going to be a challenging task. It is hoped that the pandemic situation will improve fast to allow holding of offline examination which is the best option to ensure that no student is disadvantaged due to any shortcomings in alternative evaluation instead of examination. Students should keep preparing for their examination so that they are not caught unprepared if the government decides to conduct the examinations. Assurance by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma that the State Government would have to take "a practical decision as a guardian" is expected to reduce anxieties of students and parents. The cancellation of CBSE examinations has fueled the expectation for an early decision to end uncertainties over state board examinations. The State government is walking a tightrope between career goals and the health priorities of students.