UAE: Exam fee waiver for some CBSE students

Dubai - CBSE recently decided to do away with the examination and the registration fees for students who’ve lost their parents due to Covid-19

A few Grade 10 and 12 students from the UAE schools may be applying for the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE's) exam fee waiver due to the loss of their parents, during the Covid-19 induced pandemic.

In another first, the CBSE recently decided to do away with the examination and the registration fees for students who’ve lost their parents due to Covid-19.

Although India was adversely impacted during the second wave of the virus, where many people lost their loved ones, this rule is applicable for students in CBSE-affiliated schools in overseas schools as well.

The official notice from the CBSE read: “The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the country adversely and keeping in view of its impact on students, CBSE, as a special measure for Academic Session 2021-22, has decided that neither the examination fees nor the registration fees will be charged by the Board from the student(s) who have lost both parents or surviving parent or legal guardian/adoptive parents due to Covid-19 pandemic.”

Zubair Ahmad, head of operations, Springdales School Dubai, said: “We also have some students who have lost their parents due to Covid. Most of us will miss to applaud the CBSE for this initiative. I view it as a ‘thought’ more than an initiative.”

He added: “Pandemic has caused a lot of disaster but at the same time it has given and taught us a strong sense of ‘giving’ which was almost at the verge of extinction. Waiving off exam fees is a very small measure but the thoughtfulness behind this idea is much bigger. It is going to be a huge logistic struggle not only for CBSE but also for respective schools. At the same time this struggle would be worth an effort as it will mean a lot of relief to the suffering families. Additionally, in our school scholarships have been provided to all the impacted families so that their studies are not hampered by any means. Along with this, support/scholarships have been provided to all the students whose parents lost their jobs during the pandemic under the ‘Chairman Endowment Fund for students welfare Schemes’.”

Pramod Mahajan, director- principal of Sharjah Indian School, said: “The board is giving this waiver to all students located in all the 24 countries where CBSE-affiliated schools operate. Students must provide authentic proof of the same and the school needs to certify it. But the rider is that the document mentions ‘parents’ and not ‘parent’. However, school heads have appealed to the board to extend this relief to even those students, who’ve lost one parent. That person could be the earning member of the family. Let’s see if they grant our plea. We have to provide this information by October 1. Fortunately, our school doesn’t have such students in Grade 10 this year. But yes, we were informed of the demise of a student’s parent due to Covid-19, who is currently in Grade 9.”

Meanwhile, in a renewed move by the CBSE, the board will organise two sets of examinations this academic year.

Term I board exams will be conducted in November and December 2021 while the latter will be conducted between March and April 2022.

Arogya Reddy, principal, Ambassador School Sharjah, opined: “We had a couple of students…actually two students. Those students are in Class X now. One of them went to India during the second wave and her father contracted Covid-19. Unfortunately, he passed away. So later the mother discontinued her daughter from the school here as obviously due to financial and visa-related issues the family had to move back to India. Another student also withdrew her admission after her parents passed away and she also shifted to India.”

Abhilasha Singh, principal, Shining Star International, Abu Dhabi, said: “We don’t have any students in this term. Last year we had a Grade XII student from the 2019-20 batch and we had accommodated the fee for the child. Rest we have provided fee discounts to parents with job loss or pay cut. Our school management has opened a help desk to reach out to parents for any assistance needed.”

• Dubai