Maharashtra: Teachers request special vaccination drive for teachers and staff ahead of board exams

Ahead of Class 10 and 12 board exams in Maharashtra, teachers across the state requested the education department to give them Covid-19 vaccine on a priority basis

Ahead of Class 10 and 12 board exams in Maharashtra, teachers across the state requested the education department to give them Covid-19 vaccine on a priority basis.

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Teachers said that since it is important for all teachers on supervision duty to be virus-free, it is important to get them vaccinated soon. “Teachers should be vaccinated at special centres which should be set up in various schools. This way, teachers and non-teaching staff who will work for board exams will be safe to work,” said Shivnath Darade from Shikshak Parishad, a teachers group which wrote to the department recently.

As per the standard operating procedures (SOPs) released on the conduct of board exams, teachers and non-teaching staff have to be vaccinated before the conduct of board exams in the state. Similarly, staff members who will be on exam duty have to get negative RT-PCR report 48 hours before exams.

Teachers said the government should arrange for mass testing and vaccination for teachers. “If teachers have to get tested in such a short window, the government should set up centres in their respective schools. This way, it’ll be easy to cover the entire supervision staff at various centres,” said a teacher from a suburban school.

While HSC (Class12) exams will be held between April 23 and May 21, SSC (Class10) exams will be conducted between April 29 and May 20. Nearly 3.3 million students appear for Class 10 and 12 exams from the state board every year.