How fair is the CBSE’s new formula for board results?

Source: India Today

After taking a short break, a student in Class 12, studying at a CBSE school in Pune, she is preparing for the in-person examinations that the CBSE declared would be held between August 15 and September 15. These are for students who are not satisfied with the marks given to them using the ‘30-30-40’ formula that the board has arrived upon in place of the exams cancelled due to the pandemic. She says she is unsure of whether the marks of the internal examinations conducted at her school will be “fair and impartial”. “It shouldn’t happen that some students get better marks because they’ve taken tuitions from our schoolteachers, or because of any other biases,” she says.
Her friends, who were to appear for the Maharashtra state board HSC examination, are also concerned about the marking system being used by the CBSE in place of conducting the board exams.

This is a worry echoed by several students and parents across the country, prompting groups of parents to file petitions against the cancellation of exams in the court.

This issue is not limited only to the CBSE; with state boards also cancelling exams, students say they are worried about the marking system being variable, and the impact that could have on their admissions to colleges where entrance tests are not being conducted.

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