Painting a confused picture

NEW DELHI: What would you do if you were told less than 24 hours before an exam that the syllabus you had studied all year was outdated? For students of S D Public school in west Delhi, it proved to be their worst nightmare coming true.
Considered to be a relatively trouble-free subject, the Class XII theory examination for painting was conducted on Thursday.The paper, however, left 13 students of the school, located in east Punjabi Bagh, feeling cheated. The students discovered that they had been taught the old syllabus till a day before the exam.
‘‘What can you expect when you realise you have been studying the outdated curriculum, just hours before an exam. Most of us have had a pathetic paper,’’ said Nidhi Khanna one of the 13 students.
‘‘If complaints of carelessness on part of the school are found to be correct, strict action will be initiated against the institution. We will also write to other concerned authorities,’’ said CBSE controller of examinations, Pavnesh Kumar.
Trouble apparently began on Wednesday morning with all students being summoned to the school by the principal, M D Gupta, who informed them about the ‘‘mix-up’’. The students were then handed out a few notes on the revised curriculum.
‘‘We couldn’t believe what was happening. Many students were running around other schools in the area to get more study material till 4 pm on Wednesday,’’ said one student.
Anger and frustration levels are high not just among students but for parents as well. They say that while the ‘‘mistake’’ was revealed at the last moment, the school had also not appointed a teacher for the subject for six months.
‘‘Such glaring negligence has put children’s future in jeopardy. We want the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to take note of of the matter,’’ said Dharminder Singh, father of one of the students. The school principal could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. Meanwhile, officials at CBSE say that strict action will be taken against the school if they receive a complaint in writing.