Subham Gulati, a Class X student of DPS-Delhi, is preparing hard for International Maths Olympiad slated for the middle of next year — from attending special classes in school to devoting extra time for studies at home.
Though his Olympiad dates don’t clash with the board exams scheduled to be held sometime in February-March, he’s elated to hear that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will conduct special exams at a later date for the Class 10 and Class 12 students participating in national or international sporting events and international olympiads during the period.
“This will be a major reprieve for many Class X and Class XII students who often can’t appear for Olympiads due to their board exams — when there’s a date overlap. Basically, days of preparation goes down the drain. A much needed step by the board,” Subham says.
What CBSE says
In a statement, the board has said that to encourage sports and other educational competitions among the youths, it will hold special exams at a later date for students whose CBSE board exams clash with their dates of national and international sports events and international olympiads, including dates of the journey for the same.
The CBSE, however, had issued a rider to its directive — “the sports must be recognised by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) and the Olympiad recognised by the Homi Bhabha Center for Science Education (HBCSE).” Moreover, the applications from the students have to forwarded to the board by the schools concerned.
Are students & educators happy?
“Yes, we are really happy with the decision of CBSE. Any student who takes preparation for the Olympiads along with the board exams go through stress. The board’s move has come as a destressor. Now, we will not have to think about how to manage the board exams or the Olympiad dates,” says Amaan, a student of Salwan International School in Delhi-NCR.
Dr Soumya Madan, the CEO of Interactive Learning Studio in Gurgaon, says that the CBSE’s move has come late but very beneficial.
“Our centre prepares students for Olympiads. I have seen students in the past having been forced to skip Olympiads when the dates overlapped with those of board exams. No doubt, the step is a welcome one in this age of cut-throat competition when students jostle to move ahead,” he says.
“Some of the recent decisions of the Education Ministry are really revolutionary. As a school teacher, I really think that more such steps are the need of the hour to make our education system competitive as that of any western country. In any developed country, students don’t suffer due to the stubborn attitude of their Education Ministry,” says Aparajita, a teacher with Heritage School.
