By doing away with a policy formed five years ago that offered a choice to students to opt for the CBSE board exam or let the institution assess their performance once again Class X board examination will become mandatory from 2018. The taking of board exams was to remove the pressure from the shoulders of students. It looks the experiment to modernise schooling failed in the absence of proper ground work. A few days before the government started discussions on a new education policy, the 10th Annual Status of Education Report, 2014, flagged gaps between input and outcome in elementary education-it found 52 per cent students of Class 5 could not read a text meant for Class 2. A majority of the stakeholders were therefore not only in favour of restoring the Class 10 board exam, but also demanded that no-detention policy be eliminated. The existing examination-oriented of schooling should change, but not without proper ground work. Since admission to professional courses is highly competitive and a high school exam is considered the stepping stone to higher studies, the relevance of the examination results rather than the process of education acquired significance. The previous government had expected other state education boards to follow the CBSE’s example – doing away with the Class X exam – this didn’t happen. The recent decision by HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar to reintroduce Class X board exams from the 2017-18 sessions in all CBSE-affiliated schools is a move in the right direction. But it must be remembered that the decision to do away with the board exam was taken after a spate of suicides by students who were unhappy about their performance in the said exams and were unable to bear the stress arising out of it. Removing the requirement of a board exam at the Class X level was a step taken to lessen the burden and ease the pressure on young students. About 50 state boards and several Central boards conduct high school exams.
