CBSE Class 10 English Paper Row: BIG Update Students Must Know

CBSE Latest News Today: After facing flak, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to drop the controversial passahe and its accompanying questions of the Question Paper Series JSK/1. In a statement, the board said that all the students concerned will be awarded full marks for the passage which triggered a controversy, with politicians, parents, and academics criticizing the board for supporting ‘misogynistic opinions’.Also Read – CBSE ‘Anti-women’ Question Paper Row: ‘Blatant Misogynist Material’, Sonia Gandhi Demands Apology From Board

“A passage in one set of the English Language and Literature paper of CBSE Class X first term examination held on 11th December 2021, is not in accordance with the guidelines of the board with regard to the setting of question papers. In this backdrop and 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 passage No.1 and its accompanying questions of the question paper series JSK/1. Full marks will be awarded for the passage to all the students concerned”, the CBSE said in a statement.

It added that full marks will also be awarded to students for passage no.1 for all sets of the question paper Class X English language and literature to ensure uniformity and parity.

Here’s the full circular

This comes soon after Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi raised the issue during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha and demanded an immediate withdrawal of the said passage, an apology from the government and a review into the “gravest lapse”. “The passage contains atrocious statements such as ‘women gaining independence is the main reason for a wide variety of social and family problems’ and if ‘wives stops obeying their husbands, that is the main reason children and servants are indisciplined’,” she said, reading out excerpts from the Class-10 CBSE question paper.

The Congress chief said the entire passage was riddled with such condemnable ideas and the questions that followed were equally “nonsensical”. Seeking a clarification from the government on the issue raised by Gandhi, members of the Congress, the DMK, the IUML, the NCP and the National Conference walked out of the House.

“I add my voice to the concerns of students, parents, teachers and educationists and I raise strong objections to such blatantly misogynist material finding its way into an important examination conducted by the CBSE,” Gandhi said.

She urged the Ministry of Education and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to immediately withdraw the questions, issue an apology and conduct a thorough review into this “gravest lapse” to ensure that “this is never, never repeated again”. “I also urge that the Ministry of Education must conduct a review of the gender sensitivity standards of the curriculum and the textbooks,” the Lok Sabha member from Rae Bareli said.

All You Need to Know About The Controversy

In the Class-10 exam conducted on Saturday, the question paper carried a comprehension passage with sentences such as emancipation of women destroyed the parents’ authority over the children” and “it was only by accepting her husband’s way that a mother could gain obedience over the younger ones”, among others.

Excerpts from the passage have gone viral on social media platforms with users calling out the board for supporting “misogynistic” and “regressive opinions” and the hashtag “#CBSEinsultswomen” trending on Twitter.