CBSE does away with separate 33% criteria as pass mark for class 10

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The CBSE waiver — which will now hold for all subsequent class 10 board exams — will kick in from 2019.

New Delhi: In a major relief to students appearing for class 10 board exams next year, CBSE has decided that they will have to secure 33 per cent overall (internal assessment and board exam), rather than individually.

In a circular issued by CBSE Thursday, it also said that this waiver will continue for all board exams that will be conducted subsequently.

The circular, issued by controller of examinations Sanyam Bhardwaj, said it has been decided to “extend the same passing criteria for the students of secondary classes i.e. candidates appearing for class X examination in 2019 onwards will have to secure overall 33 per cent (both taken together) in the subjects to be eligible to pass that subject”.

The circular also gave an explanation for the move: “All candidates who had appeared in the exam as per the scheme of studies were exempted from separate pass criteria in internal assessment and board examination. The result was computed in each subject taking into account combined marks obtained in internal assessment and board exam, and those who secured 33 per cent marks were declared pass in that subject. In case of a candidate being absent for the practical/internal assessment, the marks were treated as zero and result was computed accordingly.”

The Print had first reported on 8 October that the CBSE will soon make it easier for class 10 students to pass their board exams.

Students appearing for the class 10 exams may soon be exempted from securing 33 per cent marks in theory (board exam) and the internal assessment separately, authoritative sources had told ThePrint.

Earlier this year, the board had relaxed the mandatory criteria of separate pass marks for class 10 students who appeared for the board exams, which had been stopped for several years.

In a circular issued to all CBSE-affiliated schools across the country, however, it said that the decision to implement an overall 33 per cent pass mark criteria was for this year’s batch of students only.

A senior Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry official told ThePrint that the relaxation has been made after due consultation.

The class 10 exams were made mandatory from this year after seven years. In 2009, the HRD ministry had said the class 10 exams will be made optional and implemented it in 2010-11.