The CBSE on Wednesday accepted the proposal to allow children with special needs, appearing for class 10 and 12 board exams to use computer or laptops to write their examination from this year.
CBSE has decided to grant a relaxation in passing marks this year.
The CBSE on Wednesday accepted the proposal to allow children with special needs, appearing for class 10 and 12 board exams to use computer or laptops to write their examination from this year. The candidates are, however, required to submit a certificate issued by any registered doctor or qualified psychological consultant recommending for the computer facility while explaining reasons for the recommendation. The board’s Examination Committee decided to grant more concession for Candidates With Special Needs (CWSN) category from the year.
“The use of computer shall be limited to only for typing the answers, for viewing the questions in enlarged font size and for listening to the question items. Concerned candidates shall bring his/ her own computer or laptop duly formatted and the Centre Superintendent (CS) shall allow the candidate only after inspection of the computer by a computer teacher,” the order said.
“The computer/laptop should not have any internet connection in order to maintain the sanctity of the examination. The request for such an arrangement will have to be made in advance by the candidate by sending a communication with required documents to the CS through school,” it added. The invigilator will have to sign printouts of answers that are typed by candidates, which will be facilitated by the CS. The board has also given the green signal for the provision for a reader if a student with the disability does not want scribe facility and wants a person to read question paper. “Relaxation in attendance up to 50 percent may also be considered to candidates with the disability who could not attend school for prescribed days,” the order said.
In the meantime, the board has also decided to grant a relaxation in passing marks this year. The passing mark criteria have been kept at 33 percent. Students will not be required to secure 33 percent separately in board exams and internal assessments. “The examination committee of the board in its meeting held on February 16 after considering the circumstances and the facts that the current batch of class 10 (2018) is coming from a different assessment background while they were in class 9 (in 2017) resolved to approve the following for this batch as a one-time measure,” an official notification said.