A passage in the Class 10 English exam was “not in accordance with” the guidelines for preparing question papers, the Central Board of Secondary Education said on Monday, amid allegations that it is regressive, and promotes gender stereotyping. Passage number 1 and questions on the passage have been dropped and students will get full marks for the questions, the board said.
“...On the basis of feedback received from stakeholders, the matter was referred to a committee of subject experts. As per their recommendation, it has been decided to drop the passage no. 1 and its accompanying questions of the question paper series JSK/1,” the CBSE said on December 13.
“Full marks will be awarded to all students concerned. To ensure uniformity and parity, full marks will be awarded to students for passage no 1 for all sets of the question paper Class x English Language and Literature,” the board further said.
— CBSE HQ (@cbseindia29) December 13, 2021
The comprehension passage in the term 1 English paper sparked a controversy for allegedly promoting "gender stereotyping" and supporting "regressive notions" prompting the board to refer the matter to subject experts on Sunday.
Excerpts from the passage have gone viral on social media with users criticising the board for supporting "misogynistic" and "regressive opinions”.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi raised the issue in the Parliament today. The question must be withdrawn immediately and a review must be ordered into what led to the “gravest lapse”, Ms Gandhi said.
#WATCH | Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi raises in Lok Sabha the issue of inclusion of a 'shockingly regressive passage' in CBSE's question paper for Grade 10 exam, demands withdrawal of the passage & apology
— ANI (@ANI) December 13, 2021
(Source: Sansad TV) pic.twitter.com/lO1Db4ty3q
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also took to Twitter objecting to the question paper.
Most #CBSE papers so far were too difficult and the comprehension passage in the English paper was downright disgusting.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 13, 2021
Typical RSS-BJP ploys to crush the morale and future of the youth.
Kids, do your best.
Hard work pays. Bigotry doesn't.
Unbelievable! Are we really teaching children this drivel?
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) December 13, 2021
Clearly the BJP Government endorses these retrograde views on women, why else would they feature in the CBSE curriculum? @cbseindia29 @narendramodi?? pic.twitter.com/5NZyPUzWxz
The CBSE term 1 board exam 2021 has been a subject of controversy. Lok Sabha member MK Premchandran on December 7 said Class 12 Maths and English question papers were tough and urged the Education Ministry to consider a liberal evaluation process for the sake of students' future.
"The Maths and English papers of CBSE Class 12 were very tough and questions were lengthy and out of syllabus," the MP said.
