CBSE Board Exams 2021: Students, teachers concerned over practicals

School principals are concerned over the fact that many parents are not eager to send their children to school before the coronavirus vaccine is rolled out. Another concern is that it would be difficult for students to appear for practical examinations in front of an external examiner before getting any hands-on experience.

According to a media report, the principal of Amity International School, Saket, informed that every science subject has 8-10 experiments. Students need to see the deflections of a galvanometer or make electrical circuits on their own. For Biology, they need to look at cells under a microscope available in school, do titration, and other experiments in Chemistry. She told that the school plans to talk to parents to see if they would be willing to allow children to come to labs in smaller batches.

The internal assessment component comprises 20-30 marks for several subjects and often includes a practical component in the form of projects or viva voce or both. Teachers shared that they are not facing as much difficulty in other subjects as compared to CBSE 12th science subjects.

The challenge is even bigger at Delhi government schools where most of the students from underprivileged backgrounds do not have uninterrupted access to ‘virtual labs or online practicals’.