The Empty Chair
In the last days of the last month, December 2025, the word went viral that the results of the 10th standard exams held in November 2025 will be out in the first week of January, 2026. Of course, such announcements give a spike to the anxiety in the students that have appeared in the exams, and their parents. That anxiety being a normal and natural response, people were happy to see that JKBOSE is now trying to announce results in the less possible time compared to the earlier times. That way it could have been a new performance marker for the Board.
Now that the first week of January 2026 is over, results are still under cover. Now it is being told that it can take another week or two. Reason, the Board is without a Chairman. Leaving institutions in a state of headlessness is nothing new to us. We have seen it before as well.
One wonders, is this the first time that the Board has to get a new chairman and we are unable to find one? Is it that the process for transition is not in place? It is a routine with such institutions that heads are replaced. Why should there be an interregnum where the institution goes headless. And in case, under some special circumstances, JKBOSE works in a state of headlesness for some time, why should a routine process like declaring results be stalled. After all it is not the person that matters in an institution, it is the process. If the system is in place and the results have been compiled, it should have been just a routine matter for JKBOSE to declare results.
It tells upon not just the efficiency of an institution, but also reflects very poorly on the seriousness of government. One, it should be a seamless transition. Before the term of a Chairman expires, the replacement should be finalised. Two, the routine work should not suffer on the count of this transition. Third, the schedule for conducting exams, distribution of exam centres, other related stuff, and the date of declaration of results should be pre-decided. It should become a part of annual calendar for JKBOSE. Given the technology we now have in place, not doing this can only be considered as a wilful inefficiency.
