Central Board of Secondary Education, CBSE continues to draw the attention of millions of students and parents with its revised policy and changes. As the result season peaks, the anticipation turns into anxiety for lakhs of students waiting for them. Over the years the board has constantly revised its result declaration policy. Starting with no declaration of toppers to not revealing the exact date of release to even changing how answer sheets are evaluated, CBSE has redefined the examinations.
The story started with the launch of the National Testing Agency, NTA which effectively took away the larger burden of conducting national level examinations. Prior to the same, CBSE was the central authority that was responsible for conducting not only class 10, 12 board examinations but also the entrance examinations like NEET and JEE Main. This, however, changed when the Ministry of Education (earlier the Ministry of Human Resource Development) introduced NTA.
The aim was simple, CBSE could now focus on K12 education, focussing on improving the efficacy of the board examinations, curriculum development and better coordination with schools. The burgeoning number of schools affiliated to CBSE was one of the primary concerns.
Till about 2001, only 6293 schools were affiliated to CBSE (as per official records). The number today stands at over 30,000. CBSE has also expanded overseas, catering now to countries in the Middle East for the niche population of students. Today, over 40 lakh students appear for the Class 10, 12 board examination each year, a number that is steadily increasing every year.
To ensure fairness in the evaluation system and also contain the stress related to exam results, CBSE has frequently updated its policy on 10th 12th Results. This year too the board introduced a change in Class 12 results – shifting from manual marking to On-screen marking system.
CBSE Results: The Changing Paradigm
Announcement of Toppers
Till the year 2017, CBSE used to release the list of students who had topped the Board Examination. The list was heavily anticipated but also criticised. The criticisms gained more voice after many students reportedly started scoring near perfect percentages of 100 in their CBSE Board Results.
Mindful of the impact the announcement of toppers had on the larger student population, CBSE announced its decision to refrain from sharing a list of toppers. The board cited that the step was taken to keep the general rationale of examination effective learning and assessment instead of a race for numbers. The board, however, still releases a list of merit but the same is not made merit. Only the students placed in the list are notified of the same.
Separate Release Date for Class 10 and 12
For the longest time, CBSE followed the pattern of releasing Class 12 Results first which was then followed by Class 10 results. Usually, the results were released a few days apart.
This was initially almost necessary due to the volume of results. The board first released Class 12 results as the same were then required to initiate the process for undergraduate admissions across the various universities in the country. The first break in the pattern appeared in 2019 when CBSE announced both Class 10 and 12 results on the same date. Even then, CBSE released Class 12 results first and then followed with Class 10 results.
This was largely done with improvement in technical performance of various servers that could now handle larger databases at the same time. Now with two boards for Class 10, CBSE 10th and 12th results have been distinctly separated, increasing the gap to over 20 days. Results for CBSE Class 10 Main exams are now released in the month of April while that of the second board will be released in June. For CBSE Class 12, the results are released in the month of May.
No Declaration of Date Policy
This policy has often been criticized by every stakeholder of CBSE Results. The board from as early as 2018 – 2019 stopped sharing the date of release. This was done, however, was not done for self-importance (as often criticised) but for security reasons.
Due to the global presence of the board and improved dependence on the internet, many instances of fake news and fraud websites were reported. Miscreants would create clone websites to gather student data under the pretext of CBSE Results. Keeping the safety of the students’ data in mind, the board then decided to not announce the date of the results.
No Percentage Declaration
Another shift in the result declaration was the policy to remove sharing the aggregate percentage of the students. One of the recent practices, this was removed due to the redundancy of the exercise.
Evaluation Process – Introduction of On-screen Marking
CBSE introduced on-screen marking for Class 12 results from this year. As a pilot exercise, the intent of the board was to improve the efficiency of the evaluation process. Till last year, (and this year for Class 10), the answer sheets are first sent to the regional offices from the various examination centres. These were then coded and sent out to the various evaluation centres.
The to and fro of the answer sheets not only posed a risk but also created a delay and logistical cost. On-screen marking removes that.
Under the on-screen marking, the answer sheets are scanned and uploaded to the secure servers. Teachers/ evaluators were then given secure passwords to login and check the answer sheets on the screens. The advancement of technology also improves the result by removing human errors.
OSM allows the system to quickly capture and total the marks, removing the error of totalling. This in turn, also removes the need for verification of marks after the results. With systems doing the same, the step of re-evaluation is also reduced, making post result activities quicker and more efficient.
All these changes hint at CBSE not merely adapting newer technology but focussing on an evaluation system that is fair and efficient. With the number of students steadily increasing, the changes allow CBSE to create a system that is quick, fair and provides constant feedback while effectively working on reducing stress on students.
