CBSE withdraws uniform assessment policy for classes VI to VIII

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has withdrawn its rules for "uniform assessment" of the performance of students of classes VI to VIII following objections from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

This comes a year after the board tweaked the continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) system to introduced a new system for assessment of the performance of the students of classes VI to IX from the academic session of 2017-18 "to bring uniformity in the exercise."

In a notification issued in March ahead of the start of the new academic session in April last year, the board had also set rules for conduct of the school-based examination of the students of classes VI to IX, preparation of the report cards.

"As per the decision of the governing body of the board, the circular on the subject stands repealed to the extent it applies to classes VI to VIII," the CBSE said in a recent notification.

The governing board of the CBSE decided to withdraw the uniform assessment rules for classes VI to VIII at its meeting on December 15 last year after the NCPCR's objections were placed before it for its consideration.

The child rights body had last year objected to the tweaking of the CCE by the CBSE, saying the board did not have jurisdiction to frame rules or a policy for conduct of the examination and assessment of the performance of the students of elementary classes (class I to VIII) as it comes within the ambit of the Right to Education Act (RTE).

While the board has withdrawn its uniform assessment rules for classes VI to VIII, it remains unclear as to what the schools will do as the board's latest notification neither provide for any alternative course of action nor tell the schools to switch back to the CCE system.

Official sources told DH that the board is now looking at the issue "afresh" and would soon arrive at "a solution" in consultation with the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry.

Under the uniform assessment rules which came into effect from 2017-18 academic session, schools were required to assess the students of Classes VI to IX separately for their performance in the scholastic (academics) and co-scholastic (co-curricular activities including physical education) areas.

With its introduction, the system of giving 40 % weightage to the students' performance in co-scholastic areas and 60 % weightage to scholastic areas in their overall assessment of an academic year under the CCE was scrapped.

Under the revised system of assessment, schools were also required to conduct half yearly and final examinations for classes VI to IX for all the subjects for a total of 80 marks each.

The schools would hold periodic assessments before the half yearly and the final examinations for a total of 20 marks under the revised rules.