The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced a new assessment policy for Class 12 private candidates affected by the cancellation of board examinations in seven Gulf countries due to the recent regional conflict in West Asia. The Centre informed the Supreme Court that the policy was finalized on June 21 to address the concerns of students whose examinations could not be conducted because of the Iran-US war situation. The move aims to ensure that students do not face academic setbacks due to circumstances beyond their control and provides a uniform evaluation method for affected candidates.

According to the new formula, marks for subjects in which examinations were cancelled will be calculated using a combination of previous academic performance. CBSE will award 40 percent weightage to the theory marks obtained in the Class 10 board examinations and 60 percent weightage to the theory marks secured in the last attempted Class 12 board examination. The Centre explained that private candidates posed a unique challenge because they do not have school-based internal assessment records such as quarterly, half-yearly, or pre-board examination scores, which were used under the earlier evaluation framework designed primarily for regular students.

The Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by a private candidate from Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia, who argued that CBSE had not clarified how private students appearing for improvement examinations would be assessed. During the hearing, the Centre informed the court that the student’s result had already been declared under the newly notified policy and would be made available through DigiLocker. The policy also allows dissatisfied students to appear in the next regular examination cycle. After noting these submissions, the Supreme Court disposed of the petition while granting the petitioner the liberty to pursue any further remedies available under the law if grievances remain.