Cancellation of CBSE Examinations leading to Uncertainty
New Delhi: To clear the dark sky of doubts, a ray of silver lining was a live webinar on ‘What does the Cancellation of CBSE Examinations mean for College admissions’
The cancellation of CBSE Class 12 board examinations 2021 due to the Covid-19 has seeped in fear among students, parents and counsellors of admission in colleges and universities. They are apprehensive of incompetent and non-deserving students paving the way to renowned colleges over competent and deserving ones.
To clear the dark sky of doubts, a ray of silver lining was a live webinar on ‘What does the cancellation of the Class XII exam mean for College admissions’ organised by a bimonthly career magazine, ‘Career Beacon’, on 6th June 2021, which was streamed on Youtube.
A panel of educationists, including, presented their opinions. Principal GD Goenka Ghaziabad, Mrs Neha Sharma, stated that the board could consider in-house conducted examination scores. Also, keeping various factors into deliberation may reach a system of average scores, predicted scores or percentile for assessment, and allot marks accordingly.
The Director & Professor, Amity University, Dr Ajay Rana, mentioned his concern on considering class XI scores as he believed that usually, students indulge themselves in extracurricular activities in grade XI, so they may not score well. He proposed the intervention of the private universities and schools for better insight and inputs. He further suggested the Universities and colleges prepare entrance test to judge student’s ability for the course.
Emphasising the purpose of education, The Chancellor AAFT University, Dr Sandeep Marwah, said that the grade XII scores themselves don’t define a child’s potential, and AAFT welcomes students without any entry barrier.
The Director Admissions & Placements, JK Lakshmipat University, Dr Pankaj Sharma, quoted that admission criteria should not be confined to grade XII scores but also to the second personal counselling session and portfolio building.
Stating the importance of examinations and grade XII scores, Dr Arun Kumar Pujari, Advisor and Professor Emeritus Department Of Computer Science & Engineering Mahindra University, mentioned that the Class XII examination is a stepping stone to the future. He added that the grading pattern should be uniform for CBSE and STATE boards. Universities should be permitted to ask for ON DEMAND EXAM for admission.
The Head of Bennett University’s Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE), Dr Vinod Shastri, expressed his concern that the pandemic and its consequences are almost the same worldwide. Since marks alone don’t reflect the story, the students must be judged on their skills through Digi-platform.
Col A Sekhar, Soldier, Educationist & Chief Development Officer, Jagran Education Foundation, moderated the session raising pertinent questions to the panellists highlighting the role of practicals with theory. He quoted that the online studies with no practical may label the students of 2020-2021 as CORONA BATCH. He did not let the Managing Editor Career Beacon, Mrs Sunanda Rao & Associate Editor Career Beacon Mrs Kavita Rai – who were the organisers of the event to find an escape to his questions,
Mrs Sunanda Rao suggested assessment based on classroom participation by a student, projects, communication, leadership skills, and extracurricular activities instead of focusing on a three-hour exam; she stressed the paradigm shift, which is also the need for this hour.
Speaking about the career counsellors’ challenge, Mrs Kavita Rai advocated on counselling the students to have faith in the system and that the board will not put them at any injustice.
The session extended from 75 minutes to 90 minutes. The questions were answered satisfactorily by the panellists.
Mrs Kavita Rai presented the vote of thanks. Mrs Sunanda Rao assured that Career Beacon would continue this series, as they are committed to bringing indispensable content for students. She appealed to the outreach partners of various universities to come forward and participate in the series.
Watch the entire session by clicking the following Video.
