Not many takers for CBSE school-based examinations

Even though it has been three years since the Central Board for Secondary Examination (CBSE) introduced school-based examination for Class 10 with the aim of reducing the stress levels among students, the number of those opting for it is still very low in the State.

Of the 21,717 students presently taking their Class 10 examination for 2013-14 in Karnataka, a mere 4,881 have opted for the school-based examination.

D T S Rao, Regional Director (Chennai region), CBSE, told Deccan Herald that while the number of students taking the CBSE Class 10 board examination was increasing each year by 10 per cent, the number of those opting for the school-based examination was becoming lesser.

At the National Public School, Rajajinagar, for example, all the Class 10 students are appearing for their board examination. “The 138 students appearing for their Class 10 exams here are all taking their boards. It is mainly parents’ choice and many still feel that their children will have a better standing while applying for higher education through the board exam,” said a representative from the school.

Hema Malini, principal of Sri Aurobindo Memorial School, Banashankari, is also of the opinion that it is better for students to go with the tried-and-tested board examination rather than opting for the school-based examination. All the Class 10 students in her school are taking their board examination.

Despite this trend, some schools in Bangalore still have a good number of takers for the school-based examination. At DPS, Bangalore South, the number of students opting for school-based examination has grown with each year since it was first introduced. As many as 65 of the total 340 Class 10 students will be appearing for the school-based examination this year.

Increase in number

“In the first year of implementation, there were only six to seven students who took the school-based exam. This increased to 23 last year. Initially, there were apprehensions. However, we have tried to clear a lot of misconceptions,” said Manju Sharma, principal of the school.

At the Army Public School, Kamaraj Road, 135 students are appearing for the Class 10 examinations this year. Out of these, the number of those appearing for the boards and school-based examination is nearly the same.

“The number of school-based exam takers has been constant in the school since the time it was introduced in 2011. We have tried calling parents to convince them that there is no difference between the board and school-based exam,” said school principal Manjula Raman.

A recently released assessment report by the CBSE found that students who opted for the school-based examination in Class 10 did better in Class 12.