E-Paper
CBSE class 12 exams: Need to vaccinate students, teachers, Punjab minister Singla tells Centre
The state school education minister said the examinations of only selected and essential subjects may be held in each discipline and question papers may be of lesser duration
Punjab school education minister Vijay Inder Singla on Tuesday said the central government should provide required Covid vaccines to all states before taking a decision on Class 12 board examinations.
Conveying the state government’s feedback to the Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Singla said there is a dire need of vaccinating the students appearing in the board examinations and teachers as their health, safety is of utmost importance.
The school education minister said the examinations of only selected and essential subjects may be held in each discipline and question papers may be of lesser duration. “Due consideration may also be given to pre-board examinations and internal assessment,” he wrote in a letter to the Union minister.
Raising the concerns of students and parents, Singla said the examinations should not be conducted until the safety of all stakeholders is ensured. “As there is every possibility that the students appearing in class 12 would be late in getting admission in the higher educational institutions, the Union government should issue directions to all universities and colleges to cope with the time loss of students,” he said.
Singla said the higher education institutions should be asked to reduce the syllabi of the courses which would also reduce the mental pressure on students. “The students taking admissions in the higher education institutions after undergoing class 12 examinations would not be required to undergo all the semesters in the next course. For example, 8 semesters course may be reduced to 7 semesters which would help in reducing mental pressure on students and will also motivate them to perform with more confidence in higher education,” he said.
