Waive exam fees for kids in classes 10, 12 : Govt to CBSE

The Delhi government has written to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) requesting a “one-time” waiver of the examination fee of class 10 and 12 students studying in Delhi government and government-aided schools, among others, citing the pandemic-induced financial crisis.

In a letter addressed to CBSE chairperson on Thursday, Director of Education Udit Prakash Rai said, “CBSE is requested to waive off the examination fee of all the students of classes 10 and 12 studying in all the government, government-aided, patrachar vidyalaya, New Delhi Municipal Council, Delhi Cantonment Board and Department of Social Welfare schools, for the current academic session 2021-22 as a one-time measure.”

Rai pointed out that the “severe” economic impact of Covid-19 had led to job losses across the world: “After a long time, formal education has started once again in schools. Now, the problems regarding paying the CBSE examination fee have emerged before the parents. A number of requests have been received from parents, expressing their inability to pay examination fee due to loss of income in the ongoing pandemic.”

CBSE Controller of Examination Sanyam Bhardwaj said, “This is a policy matter. If the government has written to us, it will be looked at from all angles and discussed before responding.”

In 2019, CBSE hiked the board examination fee for Class 10 and 12 students in the general category in Delhi government schools from ₹375 and ₹600, respectively, to ₹1,500 for five subjects. For Class 12 students, the fee can go up to ₹2,500, including the extra amount for practicals, additional and optional subjects. For SC/ST candidates in Class 10, the examination fee was increased from ₹375 to ₹1,200, and for Class 12, from ₹600 to ₹1,200.

Schools have been asked to collect exam fee and submit the list of Class 10 and 12 candidates to the board by September 30. A majority of schools in the Capital, including 1,030 Delhi government schools, are affiliated with CBSE.

Before 2019, students from the SC/ST category were charged ₹50 and the remainder used to be reimbursed by the stategovernment to the board. Now, they have to pay the full fee.

In 2019, the Delhi government had paid the examination fee for over 314,000 class 10 and 12 students in government schools after CBSE hiked the examination fee substantially.

However, it did not pay the fee last year citing fund crunch, and this year too, students have been struggling to pay the fee on their own. Last year, Delhi government school principals and several civil society members had raised funds to help students who could not pay their own examination fee. This year too, teachers and principals of several schools across Delhi have launched crowdfunding campaigns to arrange money to pay the students’ fee.

Class 12 student Kajal Soni, who studies at a government school in New Kondli, said, “The fee has increased substantially in the past two years. We are unable to pay room rent because both my parents are sick and there is no earning member at home. I told my school to strike off my name because there is no way to pay the fee when my mother is hospitalised.”

Though CBSE announced on Tuesday that it would offer a fee waiver for those students who lost both their parents to Covid-19, principals and activists said this wouldn’t help all students. All India Parents’ Association has also submitted several memorandums to various authorities on the matter.