Maharashtra state has canceled its class Ten board exams for this year and the results will be declared on students’ class nine marks. This decision though extremely demoralizing the meritorious students, it is equally fair from the point of view of students’ security in the current severe Corona pandemic. Every government including the center has locked in a logjam over students' exams this year. The dilemma is whether students’ career is to be saved or their lives. Finally, what all wise governments do, the Indian government has done the same. It decided to save students’ lives. We have to weigh the risks and benefits of holding the Class XII board examinations. The risks posed by the virus are hidden as well as visible in terms of its intensity in the second wave. At the same time, fourteen lakh students are waiting to give the year-end exams that hold the key to their academic and career progress — two lakh among them have confirmed offers of admission to foreign universities, the rider being a year-end certificate from the CBSE. The students do not know what is stored in their future. As what happened next year and when the Corona pandemic will end is just a mathematical riddle. So, how many years the exams will be canceled is also a puzzle for everybody. Education systems around the world have had to stop classes in schools and universities. This break has led to a shift towards remote learning. Policymakers were supposed to put into place processes and procedures related to the end of key levels in school learning, especially gateway exams in schools and universities. But this wasn’t planned systematically and in a transparent manner. In India, remote learning is marred by poor internet connectivity. Our most of the population resides in villages and they do not have a proper mobile network and internet connectivity. In such situation, even if we take exams it will  definitely be an injustice on rural students. This point should also be considered. With increasing standardization over the years, the stakes related to board examinations have increased. Any delay in holding these exams has a bearing on students’ academic progress. It is a challenge, therefore, for school boards to rework evaluation systems. But despite innumerable education policies talking about this imperative, we have never revisited assessment and teaching practices. Board exams are a turning point in students’ life which will decide their future course of life. But, we have not prepared  properly thought out plan for students next step in  career. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has underlined that optimizing learning outcomes and the development of all students requires a change in assessment procedures. Its prescriptions include continuous tracking of learning outcomes of each child, and flexibility in board examinations. We are supposed to align our systems with the NEP and get them up and running by 2022. The International Baccalaur and International General Certificate of Secondary Education announced in early February their decision to not hold exams. Their assessment systems are robust, yet flexible. It is time we went beyond conversations, webinars, and seminars on NEP 2020 and worked towards aspects of its implementation, particularly in the areas of teaching-learning and assessment. Though predicted scores can only be used as an emergency measure, this is the only recourse if examinatcanceledcancelled. The situation demands flexibility from universities. There is no perfect solution to the current predicament beyond a clear approach and a recognition that there could be more contingencies. Of course, we have to move towards permanent changes to the exam-based system. Coursework for different levels will need to be framed and timings adjusted depending on the school’s resources and teachers. We must start moving towards school-based assessments that will help us override crises such as the one we are confronted with today. Globally, there is a trust deficit on the issue of school assessment. There is, therefore, a need to make internal assessments more representative of students’ actual achievements. Ways must be found to increase the credibility of evaluation by teachers. The digital divide has made fairness a significant issue in assessing students. During the pandemic, there is a need to offer exemptions and make adjustments.

The CBSE’s two suggestions for holding the board examinations are based on offline methods. While we are saying we should be sympathetic to students, we must ensure the students should not deviate from the examination system. There is no other way to know student’s efficiency and efficacy in the subject other than exams. So, exams are here to stay. But, they should be more flexible and more extracting student’s grasping power. The Corona pandemic has given academicians the opportunity to find the proper system of evaluating students' acumen. The logjam of exams is in a way beneficial for the future for everybody.