Sara Alvi, a Class IX student is happy about the proposal. “Thankfully the Boards will now be done away with.” Many other students like Sara are happy about Sibal’s proposal as well .

It has become a routine for parents and children to consult counsellors just before the commencement of the Class X Boards. A number of helplines make their presence felt during the exam season. In more ways than one, doing away with the Class X Board exams is by and large in favour of the students.

Having said that, many Delhi students also wish the Board exams are not scrapped. They say the Class X Boards are a preparation for Class XII Boards.

Kapil Sibal’s proposal of making tenth Boards optional comes in the wake of Yashpal Committee’s submitting of its report. The Yashpal Committee was set in February 2008 to study and suggest measures to revamp higher education in the country. The committee submitted its report on June 24. Kapil Sibal had said he would implement the recommendations of the report within 100 days.

Professor Yashpal, who headed the Yashpal Committee, speaking to Newsline, said, “This is a very small, trivial recommendation we have made in the report. There are bigger and more impactful recommendations in the report. I don’t remember exactly what is written in the report, but we do believe that too many examinations are useless,” he said. “It is not a good idea to have two Boards.”