THE BASE OF INDIAN EDUCATION-XTH AND XIITH BOARDS
The first Board set up in India was Uttar Pradesh Board of High School and Intermediate Education in 1921, which was under jurisdiction of Rajputana, Central India and Gwalior. Later Govt. of India suggested to set up a joint Board in 1929, which was named as the "Board of High School and Intermediate Education, Rajputana". This included Ajmer, Merwara, Central India and Gwalior.
Later it was onfined only to Ajmer, Bhopal and Vindhya Pradesh. In 1952, it came into its present existance with the name "Central Board of Secondary Education".
A trail of developments mark; the significant changes that took place over the years in shaping up the Board to its present status. U P Board of High School and Intermediate Education was the first Board set up in 1921. It has under its jurisdiction Rajputana, Central India and Gwalior. In response to the representation made by the Government of United Provinces, the then Government of India suggested to set up a joint Board in 1929 for all the areas which was named as the ‘ Board of High School and Intermediate Education, Rajputana. This included Ajmer, Merwara, Central India and Gwalior.
The Board witnessed rapid growth and expansion at the level of Secondary education resulting in improved quality and standard of education in institutions. But with the advent of StateUniversities and State Boards in various parts of the country the jurisdiction of the Board was confined only to Ajmer, Bhopal and Vindhya Pradesh later. As a result of this, in 1952 , the constitution of the Board was amended wherein its jurisdiction was extended to part-C and Part-D territories and the Board was given its present name ‘Central Board of Secondary Education’. It was in the year 1962 finally that the Board was reconstituted. The main objectives were those of : serving the educational institutions more effectively, to be responsive to the educational needs of those students whose parents were employed in the Central Government and had frequently transferable jobs.
The jurisdiction of the Board is extensive and stretches beyond the national geographical boundaries. As a result of the reconstitution, the erstwhile ‘ Delhi Board of Secondary Education’ was merged with the Central Board and thus all the educational institutions recognized by the Delhi Board also became a part of the Central Board . Subsequently, all the schools located in the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Andaman and NicobarIsland, Arunachal Pradesh, the state of Sikkim , and now Jharkhand, Uttaranchal and Chhattisgarh have also got affiliation with the Board. From 309 schools in 1962 the Board today has 8979 schools on 31-03-2007 including 141 schools in 21 countries. There are 897 Kendriya Vidyalayas, 1761 GovernmentSchools, 5827 IndependentSchools, 480 Jawahar Novodaya Vidyalayas and 14 CentralTibeteanSchools.
Following are the list of State Boards of School Education in India, recognized by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Management, Government of India.
Some of the states are having more than one School Education Boards. The state wise list is given as under:
Andhra Pradesh
- Andhra Pradesh Board of Secondary Education
Assam
- Assam Board of Secondary Education
- Assam Higher Secondary Education Council
Bihar
- BiharSchool Examination Board
- Bihar Intermediate Education Council
Goa
- Goa Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education
Gujarat
- Gujarat Secondary Education Board
Haryana
- Haryana Board of Education
Himachal Pradesh
- Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education
Jammu & Kashmir
- J&KState Board of School Education
Jharkhand
- Jharkhand Academic Council
Karnataka
- Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board
- Karnataka Board of the Pre-University Education
Kerala
- Kerala Board of Public Examinations
Maharashtra
- Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education
Madhya Pradesh
- Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education
Manipur
- Manipur Board of Secondary Education
- Manipur Council of Higher Secondary Education
Meghalaya
- Meghalaya Board of School Education
Mizoram
- Mizoram Board of School Education
Nagaland
- Nagaland Board of School Education
Orissa
- Orissa Board of Secondary Education
- Orissa Council of Higher Secondary Education
Punjab
- PunjabSchool Education Board
Rajasthan
- Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education
Tamil Nadu
- Tenth Standard Examinations (X) - March / April 2009
- Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education
- Matriculation Examination
- Anglo-indian Examination
- OSLC
- Higher Secondary Examination (Plus 2) - March 2009
- Tamil Nadu Board of Higher Secondary Education
Tripura Tripura Board of Secondary Education
Uttar Pradesh
- UP Board of High School & Intermediate Education
West Bengal
- West Bengal Board of Secondary Education
- West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education
The board exams and stress seem to go hand in hand for the vast majority of students who undertake this sort of coming of age ritual across India each year. Lost appetites, under-confidence, nervousness, anxiety and even depression are no strangers to the youngsters who are conditioned to look upon these exams as the be-all and end-all of academic achievements in school.
Not a year goes by without the media reporting a number of suicides and suicidal attempts by children as young as 14 to 17 due to the fear of the boards, or their poor performance in the same. Small wonder then that the stress inflicted upon these hapless students has become quite a concern for parents, schools and society alike.
The board exams are going on and not only child but their parents too are feeling higher anxiety levels. The competitions are much more so every parent gives complete attention and care to child. But simultaneously the over involvement only adds the pressure in a child’s mind.
The major mistake because of which the child has stress is that the parents burden the child with their own unfulfilled desires. While, this is unnecessary and it stresses out the child manifold.
Why board exams are considered as a horror show through out the country? It is nothing less than the acid test for the students. The routine life comes to stand still in the examination tenure. Almost a month before the exams, the national dailies and the news channels start telling the stories regarding the same.
Just see the face of a student who is going to appear for the boards or spend some time with him/her and you will feel the pressure he or she is feeling. They are so much under stress that the charm and glow of their faces have vanished away. Most of them cut down on their diets. No hanging out with friends, no TV, no Internet, in short, nothing else than the books. The attendance of most of the offices falls down as most of the parents take long leaves from their offices to look after or prepare their wards for the final day.
Even the social life of the parents comes to temporary halt. By mistake if you reach any of your friend or relative’s place for day or so during this highly crucial phase of their lives, you will definitely realise that a major crime has been committed by you. The students as well as their parents remember God more often and so the number of visitors to the temples and other religious places increase many folds during this period.
While scheduling the family functions, a check has to be made so that no child in the family is to appear for the board exams during that period. In short, board exams are a central part of the life of every Indian house in a particular phase of life. A student going to the examination centre gets the similar kind of treatment as given to a soldier when going on the warfront.
Such is the impact of these exams that even the most notorious students start taking the classes and the books seriously during the board classes. Are Board exams the only criteria to check the intelligence of a child? The student put up their best only in the board classes. If a child scores 90 per cent in his junior classes but due to any of the hundreds of reason, if he is not able to score well in the so called boards his intelligence is being questioned every year so many precious lives are taken away by these board exams.
Reports of students committing suicide are heard every year before or after the declaration of results. A student once tried to give her life by jumping from the terrace of the CBSE building. Many other such cases come into light every year.
The psychiatrist’s advice to parents is that ‘Have realistic approach with realistic expectations’. Many parents relive their exams stress through child’s exam which is not fair with the child even. The parents should always commemorate that good scores are important but they are certainly not to be all and end all.
The expert advice is that as a parent always help child and distress him by listening his views. Always open with your child to talk about his anxiety levels and help him to get over it. The role of parents is to boost the self - confidence and show trust on his performance.
Remember not to reflect your anxiety on the child. Always strike a balance and never over do things. Be ready with the attitude that, ‘exams are not the end of the world’
Stating that education should not be a source of trauma for students and parents, Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal today said the Government would make class X examination optional.
The Minister said education and examination should not be a source of tension for students and their parents, and for that the present system of assessment of a student's achievement would have to be changed.
The Ministry would introduce a system for replacement of marks by grades in schools affiliated to the CBSE for class IX and X.
The Minister said the Government would also formulate a policy framework for a Public Private Partnership model in school education.
The Government will introduce a system to replace the present assessment procedure of giving marks to awarding grades which will reduce stress, he said.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will be the first board to introduce the grading system in the country. A proposal is pending in this regard.
This will relieve the burden for the students by a significant level. More emphasis should be given to practical knowledge so that the actual working knowledge of the child can be tested. Same way in order to make the system more effective in terms of true testing of the intelligence, the pattern of the question pares should be made more of objective type. The regular performance of the student should be recognized rather than a one-time test. Credit must be given to the overall performance of the student through out the year. Most importantly parents are required to become supportive and understanding rather than followers of the mad race for the nineties or eighties. They must try to understand the interests and requirements of the child rather then imposing their choices on them.
The overall environment must be made comfortable for the students and not the pressure cooker kind of. Changes must be introduced in a very positive manner so that curfew that stars every year with the board exams can be overcome.
He said the examination system would be reformed in accordance with the National Curriculum Framework-2005. This will make the class X examination optional, thus permitting students continuing in the same school(and who do not need a board certificate) to take an internal assessment instead.
*X board: HIGHSCHOOL