The last day of school marks the end of an era. Farewells are hosted, shirts are signed, tears are shed, best wishes are exchanged. But let alone any of the above, the batch of 2021 didn’t even sit for the examination.

Last year’s batch had written most of their exams before the lockdown was imposed but this time CBSE, ISC and West Bengal boards cancelled all exams for Classes X and XII.

Yes, some pupils are happy that they did not have to take the test and relieved that they need not expose themselves to the virus, but many are feeling cheated at having slogged for months and not got a report card to show for it. The academic achievement aside, they also feel as if their best years got stolen from them.

That fateful day

Teesta Ray broke into tears when she heard the CBSE exams had been cancelled. “I’m in Loreto House, that follows ICSE, but I knew then that our board could follow suit,” recalls the BC Block resident who is now in Class XI. “Exams getting cancelled should be good news for students but I had slogged eight to nine hours a day for months. I’m not saying the studying went waste but I spent the entire March with science, when I’ve opted for humanities in Class XI. Is it fair?”

Swechcha Dhara Dasgupta makes wall charts out of information she finds difficult to memorise. “I was making two such charts for sociology when I heard the announcement,” recalls the Sraboni Abasan resident. And just like that, Swechcha had cleared Class XII. “The charts are still lying folded in my room, half-baked, and I don’t know whether to complete or abandon them.”

Those like Snehasish Bar of St Francis Xavier spent that evening discussing the pros and cons with classmates over phone and those like Mehuli Das of AD Block were so upset they simply shut out the world and retired to bed early.

Amrita Nandi clicks what might have been her last selfie with Class X Salt Lake Point School friends, near their BE Block tuition centre, right before the lockdown was declared last year

Mulling over options

The students are full of suggestions on how the situation could have been handled.

“Most Class XII students are 18 or 17. Couldn’t they have made special arrangements to get us vaccinated before the exams?” asks Swechcha. “Timing was also key. Kerala managed to hold its Board exams at a time when the Covid count was low but we were busy holding elections then.”

Mehuli feels the exams could have been delayed or even held online. Amrita suggests online exams with special apps to prevent cheating. Teesta doesn’t see why physical exams were out of contention. “Our school held pre-boards with utmost care. The batch was divided into three rooms for distancing, we had to sanitise our hands after taking extra sheets, no discussions were allowed after submitting the paper... but the Board exam authorities didn’t even try to work something out,” she says sadly.

Her father Jayanta Ray is positively livid at the decision, calling it a callous one made by people who have no interest in the matter. “There was no national debate on the issue. Students, parents and teachers were given no forum to voice their opinions and decision-makers simply walked away from responsibility,” he says.

Hariyana Vidya Mandir Class XII students take a selfie outside the school gate after submitting their pre-Board examination papers in November

Evaluation anguish

It isn’t clear how final marks will be calculated now and students are worried the score will no longer in their hands. "Internal assessment by the school can lead to biased marking. What if any of the teachers never liked me? It is likely to reflect in the way she marks my script,” reasons Sanskrity Sarkar of Sraboni Abasan. “And if they consider marks of the last three years, tell me who is equally consistent with the Boards so far away?”

Swechcha too, feels it won’t be level playing ground to take an average of the last three years. “Our Class X total includes marks for subjects like physics and math, that are irrelevant to students who opted for humanities in the Plus Two. Our average will dip if those marks are included now,” she points out.

Sakshi Agarwal says the outlook, concentration and dedication of students has changed since Class X. “And traditionally, we only give it our all in the final months,” pleads the Baguiati resident.

There are also rumours of this year’s pre-Board marks being counted into the average. “Some schools took these tests online and some offline. Students who took online tests could have easily cheated and scored higher. How can their marks be compared to others?” demands Tiasa Mallik, a Class XII passout from BD Block.

But Chinmoy Sahoo, is not worried about any evaluation process the Board might come up with. “Our school had warned us about other possibilities so we did not slacken off the rest of the term,” says the resident of Uniworld City.

Class XII passouts of DPS Newtown queue up for vaccination on June 5. For the 60 students who registered, this was their last visit to school

College confusion

The next hurdle is getting into college without a credible marksheet in hand. “I shall be sitting for the Joint Entrance Exams as and when they are held but the Boards would have been solid practice for that,” sighs Snehasish.

Ria Roy will be taking her medical entrance exams so Board exam marks won’t mean much to her either. “But what about classmates going for physics or chemistry honours? Such colleges traditionally pick students based on these results,” wonders the AC Block resident.

Those like Swechcha feel the cooked-up marksheets may end up inflating everyone’s scores, leading to a rush in colleges. “I had want to study history or sociology in Calcutta itself but if the rush is madding, might have to look at other cities now,” she says. “Some colleges take entrance exams but what if Covid cases rise again and they too are called off?”

Tiasa is convinced all colleges would take entrance exams this year and fears they may be extremely tough to clear.

Sreejana Sharma, an alumnus of Sri Aurobindo Institute of Education, has shifted to Delhi with her family and wants to enroll for a psychology course under Delhi University. “But I’ve heard the Board has decided not to hold entrance exams at all. How will selection be fair then?”

Sanskrity says a saving grace is that at least all three Boards have got cancelled. “As it is, ISC is more lenient than CBSE in marking. Imagine how we would have suffered if they went on to host some form of examination and thus scored more than us!” says the student who plans to pursue economics.

School switch tales

Prima facie, Class X students had it smoother since they got promoted to Class XI in the same school with or without a marksheet. Trouble arose when some of them switched schools.

“I switched from Salt Lake Point to Salt Lake School this year. Luckily, they took me on the basis of my Class IX marks and those of my pre-Boards,” says Amrita Nandi of BD Block. Her new class in the new school started a month back but she’s yet to meet her classmates in person.

Teesta talks of a friend who had switched from her ICSE school to a CBSE one after Class XI. “It was an agonising few weeks when CBSE had called off their exams but not ICSE. So this friend was studying the CBSE Class XI syllabus in her new school as well the ISCE Class X syllabus for her old school!”

Happy with cancellation

Make no mistake – there are also students who are happy with the situation. The topmost reason, of course, is safety.

“It was a nightmare going to school in January to take the pre-Boards,” says Ria. “The buses were jam-packed and I was scared of catching the virus at every step.”

Sakshi says exams would have been pointless after the apology of an academic year they had. “Online classes were terrible and we lost all motivation to study. When we couldn’t even follow the lessons why be quizzed on them as a formality?” she asks.

Sreejana says she had lost touch with academics ever since online classes began. “We were waiting for the exam dates to get serious about studying but when the dates started getting shuffled about, we realised the exams may not happen at all,” she says.

Rajib Roy, father of a Higher Secondary Class XII passout, is also relieved exams are off. His daughter Ria says they had online classes for a few subjects and that their teachers sent other lessons over WhatsApp. “If this was the standard of teaching, how can students be tested? Besides, safety is more important than anything else,” says the man who was fighting for life in the Covid ward last year.

The AC Block parent says the HS Board, through their school, had sought the opinion of parents on the issue earlier this month.

“I suggested they give marks on basis of Madhyamik result plus 10 per cent, to compete with other boards. If a student is unhappy with this system let her sit for an exam after the Covid situation improves,” he says.

Many, like Chinmoy, who are going abroad for higher studies, are relieved the exams are cancelled. “Better cancelled than get further pushed back,” says the boy who has enrolled in computer science engineering in the University of Alberta in Canada. “My session starts in September and a later date might have delayed the marksheet beyond my travel date.”

Adrija Debnath of Hariyana Vidya Mandir feels any more delay would have resulted in year loss. “The entrance exams too would have had to be pushed back. So may be cancellation was the right decision,” she opines.

Aanya Mehra is an exception in the way she has taken the cancellation in her stride. “I do not think our efforts were wasted. The results, however they are calculated, would be based on what we did,” says the commerce pass-out from DPS Newtown. She cleared the online admission test and interview at Ashoka University and is waiting for her economics classes to start. “Their only condition was that I pass the Boards,” she smiles. The first semester might happen online. “But if things improve I will go to Delhi,” she says.

Students are now spending time painting, watching movies, doing social work. “I watched The Vampire Diaries together with friends when one shared her screen on Google Meet. We chatted as we watched. It was fun,” says Adrija, a BE Block girl.

Sakshi is pursing a course in digital marketing and Aanya, a resident of Siddha Pines in Action Area III, has enrolled in an online course on data analytics. She had received a mobile phone from her parents after her Class X Boards and a prize from school for getting full marks in computer application. But it is not so much the prizes but the appreciation that she misses by being unable to take the Class XII finals.

Branded corona batch

The tag “Corona batch” is an albatross these students fear they will have to wear around their necks lifelong.

Mehuli remembers how the 2020’s batch had to hear taunts the whole of last year as they got away without sitting for one or two exams. “What will happen to us,” she wonders.

If Chinmoy is upset about taunts on social media, Sanskrity is irritated at taunts from her elder sister. “‘Tui toh Matric pass', she tells me in jest,” Sanskrity says.

Adrija has to hear seniors in the neighbourhood say ‘Era emni emni pass korlo’. “Online exams too would not have impressed them as they say anyone would have got full marks if they gave the tests from home online,” she says.

Aanya does not mind the memes. “People are looking for entertainment,” she says, laughing them all off.

Jokes apart, Amrita is worried about the long-term impact. “We can rejoice now that we don’t have to study. But what if we are discriminated against later at job interviews? What if our qualifications are undermined as we are the ‘corona batch’ who passed without sitting for exams?” worries Amrita.

This is a concern for parents too.

No goodbyes

It’s been weeks since the exams were called off but many students still can’t decide whether they are happy or sad about it.

Sanskrity misses closure for her 13 years of schooling. “Relationships with classmates go through ups and downs. I was looking forward to resolving those tiffs through face-to-face meets on the last day. Those will remain unresolved,” she reflects.

Teesta had always dreamt of Class XI and XII. “It was supposed to be the most exciting time of our lives, full of events and activities, but neither are we getting any nor did Class X receive a befitting finish. By postponing the exams, our physical health was protected but has anyone thought of our mental health?” she asks sadly.

If the school farewell didn’t happen even online, Adrija feels it was due to the lack of bonding with the next batch which organises the event. “Had we attended school, they would have come to know us the way we bonded with our seniors when we were in Class XI. We don’t even know the juniors, barring one or two,” she says.

They had hoped to click a group photo with their class teacher on the day of their practical examination which effectively turned out to be their last day in school. “A lot of us were there as geography is a compulsory subject in the humanities. But the external examiner stayed back and the class teacher was busy attending to him. So we left on our own as and when our tests ended,” Adrija lamented.

There were no other physical events either. Chinmoy has had to make do with the YouTube video teachers put out on Teachers' Day and their own Children's Day video later last year. “I gave a speech on how we will miss our teachers as a representative of the batch passing out,” he says.

DPS Newtown had asked for passport photos of the students and prepared a collage adding those of teachers and shared the group photo with the students. “But of course, it is not the same as posing for one together,” said Chinmoy.

Ria is upset they could not say goodbye to one another one last time. “My sister Rima is in Class XII now and I just hope their batch doesn’t suffer like we did,” says the AC Block resident.

What are your views on the Board examinations not taking place? Write to saltlake@abp.in