CBSE exams: Riot-hit areas in Delhi see 98% turnout

He arrived an hour before the examination to meet his friend Harsh, who was also appearing for the exam. Harsh, thin and tall like him, handed over a spare uniform set and Sonu changed into it in a park near the exam centre.

Following the eruption of riots in the region, CBSE had postponed four examinations — including English for both class X and XII students, and Hindi for class X students — which had been scheduled for the past week, only for students whose examination centres are located in the region. However, the Board took the decision to resume examinations for these students starting Monday, stating that “further delay may hamper chances of admission to professional courses, that is, medical, engineering, law and other UG admissions”. It added that the board will hold exams at a later date for students who are not in a position to appear till March 7.

Even as the Board announced that the examination was conducted successfully, with 98.2% of candidates from the region appearing for it, many students showed up despite dire personal situations.

Class XII student Vipin Gautam (18) arrived in Delhi by train on Monday morning in time to sit for the exam. His family had fled to their village in Bhind, Madhya Pradesh, after riots broke out. “We live in Johripur. The violence was too much, I saw the house opposite ours set on fire… I arrived this morning. My parents are still in the village but they will be here soon,” he said. He and the other boys around him complained of a difficult Physics paper. “Who knows how it went? This exam was not meant to go well,” he said.

Another set of students appeared for their exam at Victoria Public Senior Secondary School, located on Wazirabad road, where there was heavy violence last Monday. While the students wrote their exam, broken windows of the school building were yet to be repaired. Irshan Ahmed and Neena Choubey stood outside together, waiting for their daughters — both taking their class XII physics exam — to come outside.

“We tried our best to make sure her studies were not impacted. In fact, since we adults have been awake all night keeping vigil in our lanes, she has also been awake till 2 am, studying,” said Ahmed, a resident of Gautampuri, about his daughter Zoya.

Choubey said she did not want her daughter Khushi to appear for their exam. She had been writing her Physical Education board exam at the same centre when violence had escalated on the main road last week.

“My husband got stuck in the crowd and traffic and couldn’t reach the school. A kind e-rickshaw driver brought her and her friend home. It took her two hours to reach. I was so scared to send her out again that I told her to skip her exam even if it meant repeating an academic year, but she insisted,” she said.

However, some students will have to wait for the Board to re-conduct exams for them. Arun Modern Public Senior Secondary School in Brijpuri was torched and gutted during the violence, and admit cards of many of its Board-appearing students were burnt. These students did not take their exam on Monday. Muhammad Shoaib (17), a class X student, turned up at the school looking for his admit card for the science exam on Monday, but was told it was gone.

“My mother is telling me not to take the exam. I’m not able to study because I haven’t been able to go to my tuition sir’s home in Shiv Vihar, and my parents can’t help because they are not literate,” he said.