CBSE drops controversial Class X English reading passage, to awards all students full marks for it

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The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on December 15 dropped the controversial reading passage and its accompanying questions on “emancipation of the wife” from its mark up. In a circular dated December 13, the board said it will award full marks to all students for the passage.

“A passage in one set of the English Language and Literature paper of CBSE Class X first term examination held December 11, 2021, is not in accordance with the guidelines of the board with regard to the setting of question papers,” the circular noted.

It added that the matter was referred to a committee of subject experts based on feedback from stakeholders and has been dropped as per their recommendation.

“…it has been decided to drop the passage No 1 and its accompanying questions of the Question Paper Series JSK/1. Full marks will be awarded for this passage to all the students concerned,” the notice said.

Further, to ensure uniformity and parity, 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.

The reading passage, which gained attention for its content and questions on “emancipation of the wife”, appeared in the CBSE Class X English Literature examination, held on December 11.