Quoting an official of the MP Board of Secondary Education’s (MPBSE), news agency PTI reported that students who were absent for a long time or those who had failed were also allowed to appear for exams. 

However, the number of students writing the exams due to being unhappy with the results was more. “Mainly, the students who are unhappy with their grades are appearing for the tests,” said MP board public relations officer SK Chourasia.

The state government had organised a special annual examination from Monday for students of classes 10 and 12 of the 2020-21 academic session. All Covid-19 protocols were being followed while conducting the exams, said Chourasia. 

As per PTI, several students had exuded confidence before entering the exam hall on Monday and said they would score well in the tests. 

A class 12 student from Bhopal said he was unhappy that his result this year was based on his class 10 marks.

“It is hard to judge a student on his previous performance. After the last board exams (of class 10), I started studying hard. I know my grade will improve for sure,” he said.

The student said he also knows this is a risky proposition, given the fact that if he does not score well now, he may suffer badly (in academics).

Due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, board examinations for classes 10 and 12 were not held in the state this year. Instead, the students were evaluated on the basis of their past performance. 

Results of nearly 18 lakh students of classes 10 and 12 were declared earlier based on their past performances.

The students of class 12 students were judged based on the marks that they secured in class 10, while class 10 students were evaluated on the basis of marks of their internal school tests conducted in the last three years. 

Out of the total, around 9,000 students of class 10 and 5,000 of class 12 were now appearing for the exams physically. The exams for both the classes will be completed later this month, he added.

According to an official, if the students who are appearing for the improvement exams do not score well, they will be declared failed. If a student is unsuccessful in a subject, he or she would be given a chance to clear it (in the form of a supplementary test), he said.