Board Exams: Classes 3rd, 5th and 8th may have board-like exams, know – what is the plan?

The Central Government has decided to ensure some big steps which will help in increasing the level of school education and to enhance the talent of the students. These schemes will come under the National Education Policy and will prove effective and efficient in increasing the quality of education. Under this, the Ministry of Education is planning to organise board-like examinations in class III, V and VIII. Talks are also going on with various states on this issue and the decision will come after everyone's approval.

Many states followed the policy earlier

Earlier in some states board examinations were conducted at the level of fifth and eighth, but after the coming of the Right to Education Act (RTE) in the year 2009, board examinations in these classes stopped. Actually, under this rule, it was forbidden to fail any student till class 8.

Meanwhile, many states are taking this initiative again. States like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have also started it. However, it is still conducted only for class V and VIII. The board exam in class three is not conducted anywhere yet.

The plan was considered in 2020 also

Earlier the same step was in consideration by the officials in 2020 also. But CBSE was uncertain about the situation. An official from CBSE said "It is clear that CBSE as a board cannot conduct exams for classes 3, 5 and 8. It will, in all probability, be conducted by the school with some framework from the state's education department and maybe some guidelines from the Centre. However, we will be deliberating over this subject and have more clarity on it over the next few days,"

"The Grade 3 examination, in particular, would test basic literacy, numeracy, and other foundational skills. The results will be used only for developmental purposes of the school education," stated the NPE 2020.

If all goes well, it can start from the academic session 2022-23 itself.