The grading system, introduced by the Central Board of Secondary Education, is facing yet another teething problem with schools as well as students unclear about the working of the optional Class X examinations from 2010.

An offshoot of the new marking scheme of CBSE, the optional Board examinations can be chosen only by those schools which are up to the senior secondary level (Class XII).

Students in high schools, meanwhile, will continue to appear for the Boards.

While Board officials are conducting training programmes to apprise schools about the new initiative, teachers and principals are still unclear about the working.

“We are not very clear about the optional system and how students would be graded in case they do not sit for the examination. Though the Board sessions are informative, confusion still prevails,” said Dr Rakesh Sachdeva, principal, DAV Model School, Sector 15.

She added that more than the school, it was the students and parents who seemed unconvinced with the idea.

A government school principal agreed: “Most of the students, even those studying in senior secondary schools, prefer changing schools after Class X. There is no clarity whether not sitting for boards is an option for them.”

Students too sound equally perplexed about the new system.

“If I do not want to change my school after Class X, how will I be graded in the examination and will I still be allowed to take the test?” asked Kanishk, a class IX student.

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