“As a tenth standard student, I definitely oppose CCE because it has not reduced the burden on us but it had doubled it,” says Vasu Rustagi.

The statement echoes the common problem of all students who are now studying under the system of CCE.

Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) was launched with the aim of relieving the pressure of boards off students. But ironically it is both the students and the teachers who are feeling the heat.

The system aims at achieving overall development of the child by assessing the children on many levels such as psychomotor, social and affective. The assessment is done through observation largely. The child’s growth is assessed on two aspects; scholastic activities which broadly cover academics and work experience and co–scholastic that refers to aspects related to hand and heart; such as social skills, attitude towards teachers and school and performing skills. Marks are awarded to students based on formative and summative forms of assessment- that include regular tests, oral skills, assignments and more.

The interesting part is that it has done a lot to relieve pressure off the students.

Says Harsh Makani, Principal, S KV, Patparganj, Delhi said, “The system is good for students as they are now not only graded on academic performance but also on whatever extra curricular activities they perform. This has taken off the pressure on students.”

Renu Laroia, Principal, DAV Public School also agrees with the statement, “The system has not only taken off the pressure but has also made them confident as they are now are given a platform to showcase their talent and enhance it.”

However CCE also has some major down falls. After implementing CCE, the pressure on teachers has increased manifold. “We take more tests than we’ve taken in the past. That has increased the pressure on us. We have to complete the prescribed syllabus as soon as possible. That leaves us with little time to ensure that the students have understood the content taught,” comments Nidhi, a secondary school teacher

Students also have complaints with the system. A major grievance is the new grading system. “The new grading system seems very unfair. An excellent student will get the same marks as a good student. That means a Student scoring 90 marks and a student scoring 99 marks will still both attain an A* grade,” remarks Barkha, Ahlcon Public school, Mayur Vihar student of class 9.

Rhea, her friend agrees with Barkha and adds, “With so many projects to complete in every subject, in each term, there is hardly time for self study and to pursue our hobbies.”

The parents have also started doubting CCE’s claim of relieving the pressure of studies.

They now complain about the increase in amount of tests and assignments adding to their children’s stress levels. “Another complaint that parents have is how after implementation of CCE their children have become more overconfident about their studies and as a result are losing their competitive spirit,” adds Nidhi.

The increasing complacency in students may affect their performance in competitive exams which they take in future when they compete with students who have appeared for board exams from various other education boards. In words of Laroia, “Lack of laborious zeal is in a way making the students literate but not developing their full capacities.” She adds, “The system can be most effective only when the ideal teacher student ratio of 1:30 is implemented.”

However a ray of hope can be seen for CCE. As Laroia puts it, “On principle, the system is good. It breaks the redundancy and encourages children to explore their abilities to the fullest. But that would require proper infrastructure and proper training to be imparted to the teachers.”

The government has changed its focus toward education. It introduced the CCE with the aim of extending academic development of the students to a holistic one. Even though it has just been extended till class tenth, it could either be best thing that could ever happen to the Indian education system or the biggest curse for the students and teachers.

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