Ludhiana: Exams for Class-12 students kicks off at govt schools

Around 10% to 20% students appeared physically for the exam

The examinations for Class-12 students of government schools started on Monday. Around 10% to 20% students appeared physically for the 100-mark English exam. Students were allotted three hours to attempt the paper.

Social distancing norms were thrown to the wind as Class 12 students appeared for their exams at Government School for Boys in Jawahar Nagar, Ludhiana, on Monday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

Amid the pandemic, the school authorities were instructed to ensure social distancing norms are followed while accommodating students in classrooms, and a gap of two metres is maintained.

However, norms were flouted at two out of three classrooms in Government Senior Secondary School, Jawahar Nagar (boys).

A visit to the school revealed that in 20 students were accommodated in each room without following Covid safety protocols. Out of 279 Class-12 students, 100 appeared physically, while the others took the exam online.

At Government Senior Secondary School, Bharat Nagar (girls), only 30 students appeared physically. School authorities said that the question paper was sent to the other students via WhatsApp. At 12.30pm, many students went to the school to submit the answer sheets.

However, they gathered inside the premises, and started discussing the exam. Teachers instructed them to go back home.

School principal Kamaljit Kaur, said, “I have deputed teachers in classrooms to collect answer sheets as majority of the students prefer to appear for the exam at home. We have directed students to go home immediately after submitting the paper.”

At Government Senior Secondary School, Multipurpose, which has a strength of 1,200 students in Class 12, only online exams were conducted. School authorities said that due to shortage of infrastructure and teachers, they preferred that students take the exams from home .

At Government Senior Secondary School, Jawahar Nagar (girls), 60 students appeared physically.

Only 10% out of 910 students turned up at Government Senior Secondary Smart School, Punjab Agricultural University. Teachers sent the question paper on WhatsApp for the other students.

School principal Sanjeev Thapar, said, “As only 91 students turned up, I directed the teachers to ask students to attempt paper from home in three hours, and submit the PDF of the answer sheet online.”