Members of the Parents Association of Andhra Pradesh (PAAP) on September 15 (Sunday) said that the government should reconsider its decision of delaying the implementation of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examination system in the 1,000 State-run schools affiliated to the Central syllabus.In a statement, PAAP State president Narahari Sikharam, secretary G. Eswariah and State honorary president M. Kota Reddy criticised the State’s decision to defer the implementation of CBSE assessments for 10th class in the 1,000 schools and instead shifting the students to the State Secondary School of Examination (SSE) Board for the 2024-25 final assessments. They said that this ‘abrupt decision’ came after four months of the commencement of the new academic year, without considering the impact it could cast on students. Referring to the government’s claim that students are ill-equipped to handle CBSE Board exams since the capacity-building of the teachers is grossly inadequate to prepare them, which made them susceptible to failing the final exams, Mr. Eswaraiah argued that a genuine assessment of the students in SSC exams will bring similar results. “Will the government then cancel the SSC exams too?” he asked.He emphasised preparing students to face global competition, adding that states across the country were adopting the CBSE and ICSE educational systems, as competitive exams are also conducted based on these syllabi. The leaders reiterated that any change made at this point would be detrimental to the academic interests of the students and urged the government to reconsider its stance. Published – September 15, 2024 11:20 pm IST