CBSE Board Re-Examination is Unfair to Sincere Students

The CBSE announced re-examination of its Class 10 Maths and Class 12 Economics papers over reports of paper leak. It is not the first time that board exams have faced the menace of paper leaks. Many times such reports lead to cancellation of exams before they are conducted. Nearly 2.8 million students wrote these exams, before CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) decided to take action on reports of leakage. This move is unfair to millions of students who had worked hard to prepare for their papers.

It’s like a nightmare

Everyone knows the kind of pressure students face during their board exam years. Especially when it comes to subjects like Mathematics and Science. It is almost a matter of life and death for those who are eyeing further studies in the said subjects. For the rest of us, Maths is itself a subject conceived in the labyrinths of hell.

It is unfair to put these kids through such trauma. But the CBSE cites the move as a measure “to uphold the sanctity of the Board Examinations and in the interest of the fairness to the students.” However, if the board wants to uphold its sanctity, then it would benefit more from a strict assessment of its exam conduction procedure. It needs to find out why, how and where these leaks come from. But how fare is it to blame the education minister or the current government entirely for these leaks?

I beg to differ from those who are calling out the government or the education minister for these leaks. It is indeed the department’s responsibility to make sure that exam papers remain well guarded against leaks. But what about the relaxed attitude towards those who cheat in exams? Students and parents show the audacity of buying exam papers, because they know they can get away without any grave repercussions. Amidst all the blame game we ignore that someone is leaking papers and playing with future of millions of children, because there is someone who is willing to pay a price for them.

Students are suffering because we don’t ask for harsher punishments for those who resort to cheating.

Many people also point out that these leaks are a result of the immense pressure on students to score well. Or maybe it is because many students find it easier to resort to jugaad, than actually work hard. While we need to look into the pressure angle, none of the above causes justifies use of unfair means. As for now, we can only hope that the board deeply introspect its exam conduction system to find a permanent way to seal these leaks.

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Yamini Pustake Bhalerao is a writer with the SheThePeople team, in the Opinions section.  The views expressed are author’s own.