Coronavirus: ICSE, ISC examiners can check papers at home

NEW DELHI: To ensure the health and safety of students writing board exams during the coronavirus outbreak, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations has put its system of centralized evaluation of answer scripts on hold.

Teachers checking papers for both the Class 10 and Class 12 board exams have been allowed to work from home.

In an announcement made on Wednesday, the private school board's Chief Executive and Secretary, Gerry Arathoon said examiners can "check and mark the answers sheets at their homes" instead of going to evaluation centres.

The process

The examiners, however, have to still work under the supervision of a chief examiner and keep to a schedule.

"On the first day, the chief examiner or co-chief examiner or examiner coordinator of the evaluation centre will explain the marking scheme, give necessary instructions to the examiners and hand-over the boxes of answer scripts to the examiners," the note further says. "Examiners are responsible for safe transport of these boxes of answer scripts to their homes."

Examiners have to keep to a schedule, checking the papers within a specific time period, and upload the marks at the evaluation centre as per a schedule drawn up by the chief examiners. They will have to transport the papers back to the evaluation centre on the last day.

This procedure is applicable for answer scripts for subjects like chemistry, fashion designing, biotechnology, commerce, mathematics, mass media and communication, physical education, computer science, electricity and electronics, geometrical and mechanical drawing, geometrical & building drawing, sociology, biology, geography, business studies, home science, elective english, psychology and arts paper.

School examination boards have been compelled to change their regulations for conducting exams by the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier in the week, the Central Board of Secondary Education, or CBSE, made it compulsory for examination center superintendents to enforce social distancing between examinees and organise masks and sanitizers. Uttar Pradesh has gone a step ahead and postponed evaluation till after April 2.

Presently, the total number of confirmed cases in India stands at 151 with 134 ‘active’ cases and 3 casualties.

Also read:

• Coronavirus: UP Board result delay expected as evaluation postponed
• Coronavirus: UP shuts schools, cancels all exams till April 2

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