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Sibal plans to scrap 'traumatic' Class 10 Board exams

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Shishir Gupta

Posted: Jun 25, 2009 at 0901 hrs IST

New Delhi In a pathbreaking step towards reforming India’s school education system, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal is considering doing away with the Class 10 Board examination, and setting up an alternative evaluation system based on percentiles, not percentages.

Sibal told The Indian Express: “The Indian education system which is marks-centered and examination-based is a source of trauma for both parents and children... knowledge, like everything else, should be user-friendly, and the acquisition of knowledge should not be a stressful exercise.”

Children, Sibal said, should not be judged by percentages with an emphasis on learning by rote, and the whole system of examinations should be looked at afresh.

“I am thinking of relooking at the necessity of having a Board examination for Class 10,” he said. “A child moves up from Class 9 to Class 10 in the same school and there is no reason for either the student or the parents to get traumatised by the 10th Board exam,” he said. As a first step, the HRD Ministry will consult state governments and state education boards, Sibal said. “I hope to move forward very soon and set up an alternative system of evaluation of students that is based on percentiles rather than percentages.”

The minister believes that it is for the students to decide which stream to follow in Class 11 rather than for the schools to force it on them. “Ultimately, it is the student’s aptitude that should decide whether he or she wants to study arts or science... not the school,” he said.

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boards..should not be scrapped out!! by simran jaiswal on 24 Aug 2009

In my vry personal opinion..BOARDS SHOULD NOT BE BANNEDD...as it makes one child realize at wat level he?she stands...so dat he/she could aim 2 score good marks...n wen v give r boads...v cum 2 know how d paperz r checked,correct form of naswers n many..more.IF BOARDS BANNED..den it would be difficult 4 a child 2 appera in class 12th boardsI AM IN CLASS 10TH....n i feel dat boards should never ever be bannedd,,,,...

cancellation of board exams by anurag katarki on 23 Aug 2009

keep it up , keep sending more articles it could help me in my vocabulary

Bhattacherjee by Subhamon on 22 Aug 2009

CBSE Board exams are very much essential for a student to do well in future.Can we think of admission in class 12 without testing our eligibility in class 10.It is true that many are nervous but exams should not be stopped.This decision of doing away with 10 exams must be changed.

Kudos Mr Sibal by Saif on 16 Aug 2009

What's the purpose of an exam? Supposedly it is to check whether the student has learned enough in a particular class so that she could be promoted to a higher class. Tell me one thing? can the learning of a whole year be gauged in a three hour high pressure situation where only your writing, mugging and recalling skills count,forget learning. Leave it, suppose there is a very bright student who falls sevearly ill during the exam season. Who'd be responsible for his lost session.Therefore, I think, scrapping of board exams is a much needed policyand students should be Gauged on the basis of their round the year class performance and not on a three hour drama.Hats off to Mr Sibal, who after Rajiv Gandhi seems to be a progressively thinking politician in India.

should be banned by shashwat saraf on 11 Aug 2009

yes they should be banned

board exams should not be scrapped by karishma on 10 Aug 2009

I completely disagree with this idea of scrapping the board exams.I am in 11th and so i quite know that this issue is being made a mountain hill from a mole.The std.10 exams are a way for the students to prove their mettle and test what they have learnt so far and where they stand in the huge slew of students giving the exam.Also ,what will happen to those schools which do not have the facility and faculty to teach junior and senior college students?I think all the aspects,the pros as well as the cons,should be weighed before taking such a massive step.

thank god by abinaya skumar on 09 Aug 2009

im very glad dat mr sibal is plannin 4 a grt idea. m in 10th n i myself face a lot f stress ,tension ,and a grt burden 4 studies..v agree wid others who think dat 10th scrapin is not good.but listen ppl we learn our 10th not with our wish and v dnt even get a bit pleasure in learnin so,,,its bcaz v r learnin d subjects wich is not at all useful in our courier. but 12th board is not what is 10th. 12th studies are truely based on our interest. so v do not feel much tensed as what we are facing in 10th.not only v students but our parents r mre stresd n hav got a lot f health props caz of our board. v mug up rather dan learning caz our full thoughts are just to finish d sylabbus n if u ppl say all the props r based on how we handle,then we have an answer that we want to live happy and we are the students who are suffering with more props its not what u ppl have learnt wen u wer young.world has changd n mre to study ,so pls leave us alone n dnt put ur ego in our business.

great idea by abinaya skumar on 09 Aug 2009

im very glad dat mr sibal is plannin 4 a grt idea. m in 10th n i myself face a lot f stress ,tension ,and a grt burden 4 studies..v agree wid others who thinks dat 10th scrapin is not good.but listen ppl we learn our 10th not with our wish and v dnt even get a bit pleasure in learnin so,,,its bcaz v r learnin d subjects wich is not at all useful in our courier. but 12th board is not what is 10th. 12th studies are truely based on our interest. so v do not feel much tensed as what we are facing in 10th.not only v students but our parents r mre stresd n hav got a lot f health props caz of our board. v mug up rather dan learning caz our thoughts are full just to finish d sylabbus n if u ppl say all the props r based on how we handle,then we have an answer that we want to live happy and we are the students who are suffering with more props its not what u ppl have learnt wen u wer young.world has changd n mre to study ,so pls leave us alone n dnt put ur ego in our business.

thnk god by abinaya sk on 09 Aug 2009

im very glad dat mr sibal is plannin 4 a grt idea. m in 10th n i myself face a lot f stress ,tension ,and a grt burden 4 studies..v agree wid others who thinks dat 10th scrapin is not good.but listen ppl we learn our 10th not with our wish and v dnt even get a bit pleasure in learnin so,,,its bcaz v r learnin d subjects wich is not at all useful in our courier. but 12th board is not what is 10th. 12th studies are truely based on our interest. so v do not feel much tensed as what we are facing in 10th.not only v students but our parents r mre stresd n hav got a lot f health props caz of our board. v mug up rather dan learning caz our thoughts are full just to finish d sylabbus n if u ppl say all the props r based on how we handle,then we have an answer that we want to live happy and we are the students who are suffering with more props its not what u ppl have learnt wen u wer young.world has changd n mre to study ,so pls leave us alone n dnt put ur ego in our business.

X board exams by Teddy on 08 Aug 2009

I think X Board should be scraped .I myself am a student of class X and now I realise the tension,stress and fear of the Board exam.These exams are over burdening us.We need a break from all these tutions,tests and work load.

board examination shold b scrapped by Ritika kaushik on 07 Aug 2009

xth board examination must b scrapped. i myself is in nineth standard and i can realize the tension,stress,and anxiety of the students at this stage.i study all day long,i don't even get time to relax a bit and as far as weekends are concerened they r stressful too.the education system of india has made us slaves.we people always study with a motto to finish our syllabus as soon as possible but not to understand it thorooghly just becoz of the burden!!!!!i strongly believe that mr. sibal ha taken a right decision....to stop the cases of suicids that occure every year ther is a need to stop the systems of bord..whenever it comes to scrap the board examination says many people argue that after scrapping it students vill b come caeless for the studies but it is not like that after abolishing the board system students vill be more interested towards the studies bcoz they vill be free of burden!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

change learning style rather than its application style by nehali on 01 Aug 2009

v all agree that boards put a pressure on childs shoulders but still if a child cannot bear this stress then what he'll do when he grows up. rather than abolishing the boards they should actually change the pattern of studies. the curriculum which is just based on cramming

10th board-a must by Aditi Budhale on 29 Jul 2009

Its true that during board exams students do experience fear,tension and stress,but according to me,scrapping of 10 board exam is not a useful and effective solution for this problem.The tension during boards intensifies due to the pressure from their parents,teachers and peers;and not because of the actual exams.the 10th board makes a student familier with the atmosphere of tension and anxiety that he/she has to definitely face during 12th board.So i think that Mr Kapil Sibbal should recheck his decision

board exams must b scrapped!! by Pradnya Shinde on 28 Jul 2009

wenever xams r near students r under tremendous stress,fear and they r anxious..anxiety hamper recall and results in mental block during xam..adoloscents tend 2 percieve evrythng in emergency..moreover do u thnk 10th std marks do matter???evry1 says it builds up competition spirit..but does it really??and if it does,do u thnk dis age iz right 4 us 2 build competition spirit????n d students who get mere marks or below average marks,do u competition iz a fum 4 them??dis iz so sick...and illogical too..doesnt it matter 2 u all bout d heart attacks and suicides????it is not a child's play..how selfish!!i thnk scrapping of board exams is a must to save d teenagerz from d worries n tension n insomnia..even britishers have abolished grade system..think over it..jaago bharat jaago!!just pray dat sibal and hrd minister takes d right decision into consideration of scholars as well as "mere marks getters"..

Shuldn't be scraped by Nayan on 25 Jul 2009

I a student of class 9 ,completely disagree with mr. Sibal b'coz the children who commit sucide may be mentally weak . The boards have been a part of the system since a long time and why the need now to abolish them??? Also think abt the excellent students who get the chance to perform at a state level.Whatever happens must happen by keeping in mind that there are both good and bad students

IO by RAHUL on 25 Jul 2009

when is the final decision being taken very nervous about this

scraping 10th board exams by ayushi shrivastava on 20 Jul 2009

i heartly agree wid MR.SIBAL.His action of scraping 10th board examinations would help 2 decrease d stress n burden which d average or lower than average students face during 10th.if taken in positive way it would help in gradual decrease of incidents like suicides which d students after geting lesss marks usually commit! so "scholars" plz dont b selfish and b broad minded n think 'bout the students who r average or under! thanz

is it true-" burden will be relieved ?" by neha jaiswal on 19 Jul 2009

i totally disagree. wats the need of educ. then? its obviously good for the guys who want to escape challenges.being in std.10 means the child is matured and is capable of appearing these exams. if not these wat will be the standard of identifying students. student scoring 60% and the one scoring 95% will be characterized same. its not at all fair. i think that sibal should retreat.

10 th exam by ANBARASAN.V on 16 Jul 2009

I think that 10 th exam should not be mandatory one,but alternative system which is common to all students in the country.Present system is highly benfitted to the private school and tution teachers who earns money from poor parents who pay all their savings for the sake providing basic education to the children.

10 th Boards by Parinita Agarwal on 09 Jul 2009

Yes education today is stressful more at school level. A uniform board all over the country with similar course is important, giving English, Hindi as compulsory languages.

X th Boards by ssp ramnrayan on 09 Jul 2009

When is the final decision being taken???

IN CONTINUATION OF LAST COMMENT... by Sagar Nenwani on 05 Jul 2009

I think MR.SIBAL should get into the reason why people are thinking 10th board examinations as a danger and should remove that not 10th board examinations. And according to me school teachers are making the 10th board examinatons danger and bringing parents and students under great depression and tension and MR.SIBAL should make his affords in removing this habit of teachers not 10th board examinations.

Mr. sibal is absolutely wrong by Sagar Nenwani on 05 Jul 2009

I think MR.SIBAL'S decision is the wrong decision of removing the 10th board examination because he feels that 10th board exam brings both parents and students under depression. It's correct. But for this we can't remove the 10th board exams. It will definately decrease the pressure over both parents and students. but when the child reaches 12th it will bring compartively more pressure and tension over parents and students because the child will be giving the board examination for the first and last time and his/her result will declare his further studies and it will also result in increasing the no of suicide cases. Moreover,10th board is the primary stage for the students where students learn to give board exams and the pattern of board exams so that they can perform well in 12th board and should get good college for their further studies.

finally India is evolving by asha on 29 Jun 2009

For ll those who have casually posted such rash comments on this decision- pray are you tuition teachers?? You dont need to have been in the field for 20years to know that 10th board has caused hundreds of students to commit suicide.why? did you post comments then? leave alone the fact that it doesnt prepare a student for life long learning..so dont comment if you dont know..stick to your field of interest.

Sibal, you need your head examined by Kalidas M on 28 Jun 2009

In a pathbreaking step towards reforming India’s school education system, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal ......Whose path is he breaking; most probably that of the deserving students, for these idiots escape all the time without even a scratch on them for any wrong doings and still manage to win elections. Be careful, citizens, this seems to me like a half cooked dish. The educationists need to be called in to dissect the idea and ponder the innards before any final decision is taken.

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