UAE students fare well in Term 1 CBSE exams

Students in the UAE have fared well in the Term 1 CBSE exams, according to head teachers of the Indian curriculum.

India's Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Saturday released the results of the Term 1 Grade 12 board exams.

Sanjeev Jolly, executive principal of Our Own High School - Al Warqa'a and chairman of Gulf Sahodaya, said results have been 'respectable' in every school.

"Students are now working to make them even better ahead of them appearing for Term 2 exams in April, May and June," Jolly said. "Some students have met expectations, some have exceeded and there will be a few cases where we can see that Covid-19 has affected outcomes."

Every student is required to appear for both the Term 1 and Term 2 assessments. Though students may have scored high in Term 1 exams, Jolly said schools will only be able to assess their performance at the end of the academic year, when results of the Term 2 exams are released.

Muhammad Ali Kottakkulam, principal, Gulf Indian High School, Dubai, said the Term 1 results for the school were 'very good'.

"Once again, our students have earned a comprehensive range of excellent individual scores that epitomises excellence and hard work," Kottakkulam said.

Principals explained that they were satisfied with the results, given the circumstances under which the students appeared for the board exams in December 2021. This included a new assessment pattern and the return to online learning due to rising Covid-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant. However, educators underlined that students adapted well to both challenges.

"Objective assessment helped to avoid rote learning," Kottakkulam said. "Now that it's done, we must look ahead to Term 2 results, as we are still waiting to know better about CBSE's evaluation policy. All the students who appeared for the Term 1 exam will be appearing for Term 2 also."

Abhilasha Singh, principal, Shining Star International, Abu Dhabi, said students did 'fairly well' despite challenges posed by the new assessment pattern and online learning.

"There are students for whom we were worried and their results could be much better," she said. "However, the new assessment pattern and pandemic online learning did pose challenges. Few students just must work harder. Some had surprises and they have resolved to work harder for the final board exams. There is a sense of seriousness in their attitude and sincerity.”

Deepika Thapar Singh, CEO/principal, Credence High School, said: "Our Grade 12 students have done us proud by doing very well in their Term 1 board exam. The personal efforts of the teachers to support each child as per their need have borne results.”

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With continuous revision and practice exams, educators said students' success will be ensured in forthcoming exams, as well.

Mala Mehra, principal, Central School, said: “The students have done fairly well in the Term I examinations. The teachers were following up rigorously on learning gaps post summer vacation through personalised support to the students. As a result, they were able to meet up to the expectations and there were no last-minute surprises. All the students will now be appearing for the Term 2 examination in April 22.”

• Dubai