After CBSE, ICSE, ISC and state board students start online petitions

NEW DELHI: After the success of the online petition for the postponement of the Central Board of Secondary Education or CBSE board exam 2021, students of other education boards are still awaiting good news.

Students have started online petitions for the cancellation of the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), Telangana state board examinations. Online petitions demanding postponement of the Indian School Certificate, ISC 2021 exam and Gujarat state board exam have also surfaced in the past few days.

Each online campaign has cited academic loss due to online classes as their reason for opposing offline exams. While some students are against the postponement of exams and demand cancellation, others wish to wait out the surge to give the exams when the COVID-19 cases are under control.

Before CBSE Class 12 board exams were postponed and Class 10 exams were cancelled on Wednesday, several state boards had already decided to postpone the exams. These states include Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Punjab.

ICSE online petition

Against the ICSE exams, Class 10 students have argued that the “ICSE exams were postponed from Feb to May. The students deserve to see an end to the exam stress.” The students have requested an alternative evaluation based on “computation of marks from the 9th board exams.”

The chief executive officer and secretary of ICSE, Gerry Arathoon, told Careers360: "The CISCE board will take a decision regarding its ICSE Class 10 and ISC Class 12 examinations 2021 at the earliest and will inform all concerned afterwards."

The petition has so far received 1,245 signatures. At the time of publication, ICSE board exams are scheduled to begin on May 4 and end on June 7, 2021.

Telangana State Board

Another online campaign against conducting the Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TSBIE) Class 12 and Class 10 SSC examinations argues that merely postponed the exams “will hamper the natural flow of the academic year” leading to “unnecessary pressure” on students.

Highlighting the shortcomings of online classes, the petition said : “ Online classes- no matter how good the teacher is -- fall short to fulfill the student's attempt at understanding what is being taught. Students will fail to give their best without classroom sessions and proper guidance.”

The theory examinations of intermediate level are to be held from May 1 to 19 as per schedule, while the Class 10 SSC exams are from May 17 to 26.

Gujarat State Board

As the state hits the peak of COVID-19 cases, students against the Gujarat Board exam have expressed concern about safety of students appearing for it.

“When there were only a few cases in the country they cancelled the remaining board exams and now when the cases are at a peak they are planning to take Gujarat Board exams 2021,” says the petition.

The petitioner has urged chief minister Vijay Rupani and the state education minister to postpone the Gujarat Board exams 2021. The exams are scheduled to be conducted from May 10.

“Students are already under a lot of stress and pressure due to these unfortunate times and above that, they will have to take the pressure of examinations which could lead them into making bad decisions if they don’t perform well,” the petition added. Jignesh Mevani, an MLA from Vadgam Assembly Constituency, Gujarat has also criticised the state government for conducting the exams while the CBSE has cancelled offline exams.

“Even after CBSE has postponed & cancelled offline exams of Class 10th & 12th, but Gujarat government is still adamant to risk the lives of students & their parents by forcing them to appear for exams offline,” Mevani tweeted on Wednesday.

ISC online petition

Students against the ISC exam 2021 have also expressed concerns about stepping out amid the raging pandemic. While most students in other online petitions are rooting for cancellation, the ISC petition has asked for a postponement only. However, there are only a few signatories on this one.

“No, students are not saying to cancel the examinations but due to the rise in COVID-19 cases all over the country, it is not really safe for students to go for offline exams for the time being. We only request you to just postpone the dates for the time being until we all come out of this pandemic,” the petition stated.

According to the schedule, Class 10 ICSE and Class 12 ISC exams will be conducted from 4 May.

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