The Week In Education: State suggestions on Class 12 board exams by May 25

NEW DELHI: The education minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and several other high-ranking Union minister met state ministers and education officials on Sundya to discuss the Class 12 board exams postponed due to COVID-19. At the end of the meeting, Pokhriyal announced that states will send their "detailed suggestions" by May 25.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had made two proposals - to hold exams in a few "major" subjects or to hold shorter, objective-type exams in schools. Delhi Government had opposed both, said Manish Sisodia, and also insisted that all 1.5 crore Class 12 students be vaccinated first. Mahashtra's education minister, Varsha Gaikwad had suggested a "non-examination route" for Class 12 students as well.

The meeting was chaired by defence minister Rajnath Singh while students and their parents ran an online campaign, #cancelboardexams.

Read More | Class 12 Board Exams 2021: Meeting, CBSE exams, vaccines and decisions

Earlier in the week, Ramesh Pokhriyal met directors of premier technical institutions, including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs), and impressed upon them the need for “positive thinking” and “positive reactions” to the current situation.

The educational institutions, however, have been facing mounting problems with COVID-19 and deaths of faculty members. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) sought financial help from alumni to build a COVID-centre on campus. Central University of Rajasthan’s (CURAJ) head of linguistics died after a month-long battle with COVID-19. IIT Gandhinagar, which set up a COVID facility on campus for its own staff and students and neighbouring communities issued a whitepaper on how to set up similar centres on campus.

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These were the most significant developments in education over the week.

Class 12 board exams: Meeting reactions

Manish Sisodia said in a press conference following the meeting that the Delhi Government had opposed both options presented by the Centre. He said that the government should allow Class 12 students to move ahead. "We can't sacrifice the students to our desire to uphold exam traditions and rules," said Mr. Sisodia. "We must think like parents".

Addressing an important Press Conference | LIVE https://t.co/9c898PLhqp

— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) May 23, 2021

Varsha Gaikwad wrote on social media: "Keeping in mind the ongoing pandemic situation & the projection that children are vulnerable to new strains of coronavirus, option of a "NON-EXAMINATION ROUTE" for class 12th students should be actively examined." She also raised the point that Council of Boards of School Education in India (COBSE) had not met even once to discuss the issues.

Keeping in mind the ongoing pandemic situation & the projection that children are vulnerable to new strains of coronavirus, option of a "NON-EXAMINATION ROUTE" for class 12th students
should be actively examined.#CBSE #BoardExams pic.twitter.com/5ejDxX1Nsk

— Varsha Gaikwad (@VarshaEGaikwad) May 23, 2021

Sisodia also said that the impending third wave of COVID-19 could impact very large numbers of children and young people most of whom are unvaccinated. He also said that several states had agreed on the point of vaccination and that "around eight-10" had also stressed on a "zero exam" policy.

COVID-19 relief

Congress president Sonia Gandhi urged prime minister Narendra Modi to provide free education to children orphaned during the COVID-19 pandemic at the centrally-run Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas.

The Uttar Pradesh Government banned any increase in school fees across all the boards for the upcoming academic session (2021-2022).

Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb launched a 24x7 education channel to help students "make up for the lost learning time". The channel is called Vande Tripura. Lok Sabha speaker and member of Parliament from Kota-Bundi announced free coaching in Kota, Rajasthan, for students who lost their parents due to COVID-19.

Board exams 2021

• Telangana: The Class 10 TS SSC results were declared on May 21. The board exams were cancelled and students marked on internal assessment. Everyone passed.

• Chhattisgarh: The CGBSE Class 12 exam dates were announced. They begin on June 1 and students will be allowed to write the exams at home. The CGBSE Class 10 results were declared. The exams had been cancelled and everyone passed.

• West Bengal: Education minister Bratya Basu said the state’s board exams -- WBBSE Class 10 and WBCHSE Class 12 exams -- will be held after the COVID-19 situation is contained. The decision will be taken in consultation with the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee.

• Maharashtra: The Bombay High Court questioned the Maharashtra Government’s decision to cancel the Class 10 SSC exam.

• Uttar Pradesh: The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP) is expected to take a decision on UP Board Class 10 and Class 12 exams after May 20. A UP board exam timetable widely circulated on messaging applications turned out to be fake and no decision has been taken yet.

• Kerala: The Class 10 SSLC practical exams were cancelled and the Class 12 ones postponed.
  
  

A maths teacher from Kerala moved the Supreme Court arguing that it is necessary to conduct Class 12 exams. However, over Thursday and Friday, a large number of students in both India and Pakistan campaigned to have all board exams cancelled. They tagged their social media posts with #CancelAllBoardExams

School news

The Karnataka Government announced it was setting up an expert panel to frame guidelines for primary and secondary education for the year 2021-22. Jammu and Kashmir earmarked Rs 30 crore for establishing model schools for tribal children.

University exams, entrance tests

Delhi University postponed the exams for final-year students to June 7. Earlier, the exams were scheduled to begin from May 15. The Council of Architecture postponed the NATA 2021 second test for admission to architecture by a month to July 11.

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