La Junta de Exámenes, BOX, se creó en 1990 bajo el siguiente mandato del GBC.

Se formará un comité permanente, llamado la Junta de Exámenes de ISKCON. Este comité tendrá el poder de revisar y aprobar los exámenes propuestos para la concesión de los grados Bhakti Sastri, Bhakti Vaibhava, Bhakti Vedanta y Bhakti Sarvabhauma. La base para la revisión y aprobación serán las directrices dadas por Srila Prabhupada para la concesión de estos grados. Ningún centro ISKCON puede otorgar estos títulos sin buscar la aprobación de la Junta de Exámenes de ISKCON.

Por lo tanto, el GBC facultó a la Junta de Exámenes (BOEX) para instituir un sistema para aprobar los centros ISKCON autorizados para otorgar títulos ISKCON sastra.

Policy

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The ISKCON Ministry of Education’s (hereinafter referred to as ISKCON MoE) Board of Examinations (hereinafter referred to as BOEX), based on the authority contained in Article XY of the Organisational and Operational Rules, hereby adopts the following policy:

1. Objective and tasks

1. The Board of Examinations (BOEX) functions under the supervision of the ISKCON Ministry of Education.
2. The BOEX is responsible for the development and improvement of the requirements for the Bhakti-śāstri, Bhakti-vaibhava, Bhakti-vedānta, and Bhakti-sarvābhauma degrees (hereinafter referred to as Śāstric-degrees).
3. The BOEX shall have the power to review and approve proposed examinations for the awarding of Śāstric-degrees.
4. The basis for review and approval shall be the guidelines given by Śrīla Prabhupāda for the awarding of these degrees.
5.  No ISKCON center may award these degrees without seeking the approval of the ISKCON Board of Examinations.
6. BOEX shall also give its opinion on any matter on which the MoE or ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission (hereinafter referred to as GBC) requests its opinion.

2. Organisation of the Board of Examinations

1. The BOEX shall consist of XY members appointed by the Minister of Education.
2. Positions that may be held in BOEX:
   • Chairman;
   • Vice-Chairman;
   • Secretary;
   • Director of Education
   • Regular member.
3. The BOEX shall elect a Chairman by majority vote, who shall be responsible for convening and chairing BOEX meetings, and announcing program items. In the absence of the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman, also elected by BOEX, shall chair the meeting.
4. The Secretary is appointed by the Ministry of Education. The Secretary is responsible for keeping the minutes of the meetings.
5. BOEX meetings may be attended by invited members with a proposing and advisory role but without voting rights.

3. The rights and duties of Board of Examinations members

1. The members of the BOEX shall have the right and duty to facilitate the effective functioning of the Board.
2. The member shall:
   • attend the meetings of the Board;
   • in case of absence, notify the Chairperson at least one day before the meeting;
   • comply with the MoE and Board regulations in the course of his/her activities.
3. A member is entitled to:
   • ask questions, make comments, initiate action or amendments on any matter within the competence of the Board at the meeting;
   • to have access to all information necessary for the performance of the duties arising from membership of the Board.
4. Members shall be bound by confidentiality.

4. Description of how the Board of Examinations works

1. BOEX shall meet online every fortnight or as designated by the Chairman. The meeting shall be convened by the Chairman, who shall indicate the items on the agenda. The notice of the meeting and the items on the agenda shall be sent to the members in electronic form at least 7 days before the meeting.
2. Any member of BOEX may initiate a special meeting of the Board by sending the agenda item(s) and/or proposal(s) to the Chairman.
3. Any member of the Board may propose additional items to the agenda, in writing, not later than 3 days before the date fixed for the meeting.
4. Minutes shall be taken of the meetings of the Board.
5. The minutes shall contain:
   • the time and place of the meeting;
   • the names of the participants at the meeting;
   • the name of the Chairman;
   • the agenda items adopted;
   • the opinion of the Board on each item (optionally, if directed by the Chairman);
   • the numbered decisions of the Board (e.g. BOEX20230323/1);
   • any other relevant circumstances relating to the conduct of the meeting.
6. The minutes shall be sent to the members of the Board by the Secretary within 7 days of the meeting.
7. Members may submit written comments on the minutes within 5 days of their receipt to the Chairman.
8. The meetings of the Board shall be closed, and its minutes shall not be public.
9. The Director of Education shall report on the decisions of the Board to the Minister of Education, and in justified cases to the GBC.
10. The Board shall report annually to the MoE on its activities.

5. Decision-making

1. The quorum of the Board shall be at least 75% of its members present at a meeting.
2. The Board shall normally vote by open poll, except on personnel matters.
3. The Board shall take its decisions by a simple majority.
4. In the event of a tied vote, the Chairman shall have a casting vote.
5. Voting shall be by a “yes”‚ “no” or “abstain” vote.
6. A secret vote shall be taken on questions of personnel, in which case a vote shall be taken by “yes” or “no”.
7. Exceptionally, voting may be by e-mail (or another electronic platform), with each member sending his/her vote to the Chairman. Votes cast by e-mail shall be archived.
8. In the case of an electronic poll, in addition to the above, a vote “the question cannot be decided without a meeting” may also be used. If at least 50% of the members of the Board have voted “the question cannot be decided without a meeting”, a live meeting of the Board shall be convened to discuss/decide the question.
9. In the event of a failure to reach a decision, the Chairman shall call a reconvened meeting of the Board within a maximum of 15 days. In such cases, the quorum of the Board meeting shall be irrespective of the number of persons present.
10. A proposal shall be deemed adopted if the number of votes in favor exceeds the sum of the votes against and abstentions. Otherwise, the proposal shall be considered rejected.

6. Closing provisions

1. For matters not covered by these Policy, the laws of ISKCON and the policy of the MoE shall prevail.
2. These Policy were adopted by the MoE on xx.xx.2023 by resolution MOE2023xxxx/X and entered into force with immediate effect.

Tapana Miśra Dāsa
Minister – ISKCON Educational Ministry

Miembros de BOEX