Hindu Daily Digest - Editor’s Pick: Cancelling the boards

(The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.)

The Union Education Ministry has announced that the 2021 CBSE board exams for class X has been cancelled and that of class 12, postponed. Class X students will now be given a mark based on an "objective criterion", with an option to take the examination if they are not satisfied with the assigned mark. The CBSE board will review the decision to postpone the Class 12 examinations, which were to be held from May 4 to June 14, on June 1.

The news will come as a relief for the over 35 lakh students who were set to take the exams this year. There had been a massive petition demanding the cancellation ahead of the decision taken by a review meeting chaired by the Prime Minister. The second wave of coronavirus infections that is spreading across the country had caused serious concerns among parents and children about assembling in a physical classroom for writing the examination. The issue is even more critical in the light of information that the second wave seems to be affecting those in the lower age groups, whom the first wave had mostly left untouched. How the postponement of the Class 12 exams will affect the next academic year in higher education institutions remains to be seen.

While lauding the decision on the board exams, The Hindu's editorial on the issue today points to the fact that there are some State-level board exams that are under way or are still scheduled to be held. This brings the focus again to the need for universal vaccination. India's current inoculation programme covers only those above 45 years of age, while countries such as the US are moving to cover all above 16. This will be inevitable if universities and colleges plan to return to physical classes. The development of vaccines for the less-than-15 age group, or the testing of existing vaccines on that age group, will also be necessary for true universal coverage and a return to school classrooms.

The impact of the coronavirus on the schooling of lakhs of children, and the linkage between the education system and the vaccination programme, are what make this story important.

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