No CBSE board exams for Class X from 2013

THE CENTRAL BOARD of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to do away with board examinations for Class X students from the next academic session, 2012-13. It means that there will be no board exams for Class X from 2013 onwards. According to CBSE Chairman Vineet Joshi, the decision was made after nearly 90 per cent of the students opted for internal examinations over the last two years. The CBSE made the board examination optional after introducing the Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) in its schools last year, Mr. Joshi pointed out. Students were also offered a choice between appearing for the board examination or the internal examination, he said. Considering the fact that most students preferred to appear for the internal examination, the CBSE had decided to discontinue with the board examination, he also said. The CBSE will also randomly verify some answer sheets to ensure that the evaluation has been fair in the internal examinations, he added. Under the CCE pattern, introduced to decrease the burden and pressure on the students, the marks for the main examination were decreased from 100 to 40, with the balance being for monthly tests and activities.