New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Sunday cancelled its Class XII board examinations scheduled in several West Asian countries following a review of the feasibility of conducting them in a region scarred by the ongoing war.The move affects about 20,000 students in around 200 schools, affiliated with the board, in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, where the tests had been scheduled between March 16 and April 10.The Board said that the feasibility of holding the examinations was reviewed based on inputs and requests received from the schools and authorities of the countries affected by the war. It later wrote to the principals of these schools regarding the cancellation of the tests. The Board said, “The examinations, which were earlier postponed vide circular dated March 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9, shall also stand cancelled.”The process for declaring results of the affected Class XII candidates will be notified separately, CBSE said, adding that the mode of assessment and declaration of result will be communicated in due course.“We handle everything for the children. Whatever initiatives we take, we always ensure that everything runs smoothly, and people can work comfortably. Their health and happiness are taken care of,” said CBSE exam controller Sanyam Bhardwaj.The announcement came after a series of disruptions to the examination schedule in the region. The Board had earlier postponed Class X and XII board examinations scheduled on March 2, March 5 and March 6 in these seven countries.In place of traditional exams, CBSE may now use alternative evaluation methods to assign final marks to these students for this academic session. This likely includes assessment based on internal school evaluations, such as assessment marks that teachers have recorded during the year, those of periodic tests or unit tests, pre-board exam results, marks from practical or project work, and overall academic performance logged by the school. Using these various components could form the basis of the final results for the 20,000-odd students. However, the Board’s formal evaluation formula is typically announced after official confirmation.
