Jury still out as CBSE puts an end to CCE for Class X students

The announcement of Class X examination results of the CBSE marks the end of the system of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) which was introduced in 2009 with the intention of having holistic evaluation, by including areas such as life skills, sports and games in the overall grade.

Starting the 2017-18 academic year, the system of board examination will be reintroduced, with the final examination carrying 80% weightage. The remaining 20% of the student’s final score is made up of periodic tests, notebook submission and activities.

Students who scored 10 CGPA in this year’s exam say the system helped them complete Class X stress-free.
Parvathy P N, a student at National Public School, Rajajinagar, said she enjoyed the CCE system. “I found it to be very comfortable. Instead of studying the entire portions at the end of the year, we would learn through projects and activities throughout the semesters,” she said, adding that there was not too much pressure on students and she was able to spend time on activities she enjoyed, like drawing, painting and reading.

Adithi Hemachandra said the existing system was more student-friendly. “Since the internal marks made up 40% of our final score, we had the entire school year to work on our grade. Everything did not depend on one single examination at the end of the year,” she said.

Some students, however, think that knowing their marks and percentage, instead of grades, would be a good change. “Anyone who scores above 95%, gets a 10-point CGPA and there is no way to know exactly how you performed,” said Oindrila Rakshit, a student at DPS (East).

Though she does not think it would increase pressure on students, she said the change should have been introduced gradually. “Suddenly in Class X, students will have to study the entire year’s portions. This will help them later, to cope with Class XI and XII portions, but the CBSE should have made the transition smoother,” she said.