Noida: Better safe than sorry, say schools, Class 12 students

With the Centre and states yet to come to terms on conducting the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 12 board exams, parents, teachers and student in Noida are a concerned lot

With the Centre and states yet to come to terms on conducting the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 12 board exams, parents, teachers and student in Noida are a concerned lot.

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On one hand is the safety of students, and on the other is their future. Even harder hit are those students who have lost one or more of their parents, relatives or friends to Covid-19’s second wave that ravaged the city.

The exams were earlier scheduled to begin from May 4. On April 14, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) postponed it due to the pandemic.

On Tuesday, most states are learnt to have opted for conducting class 12 exams, picking a proposed method that involves a shorter duration for the tests, holding them at schools where students are enrolled, and switching to only multiple choice and short-answer questions, a few opted for conducting it at designated centres, and some also wanted the exam scrapped. A final decision is likely on June 1.

Kamini Bhasin, principal of DPS Noida, says that neither options were “foolproof”.

“The children as well as school are confused. In any case, we await the final announcement so that we can start preparing to conduct the exams,” she said.

Renu Singh, principal of Amity International School, said it would have been better to have followed the Class 10 assessment that was based on internal assessment. “Our school has over 500 students in Class 12 and asking all of them to step out and appear for an exam now is unthinkable,” she said.

“In any case medical, engineering and even some departments in Delhi University hold their own entrance exams online that can decide students’ career path,” said Yashika Bhardwaj, principal of KR Mangalam World School, Vaishali, and a telecounsellor for the CBSE.

Students’ distress

Astha Singh, a resident of Sector 53 and student of Amity International School, said the mental stress on students was real.

“I have seen many of my friends losing one or both of their parents due to Covid. It is a very difficult time for them. We have this underlying fear that we may bring the virus back home after the exam,” she said.

Indirapuram resident and DPS Noida student Ankita Pathak had won a scholarship at a university in Canada for a course in business administration. “By now I would have been packing for Canada. However, with delayed exams and flights to Canada banned, those plans are on hold. I would’ve liked the board exams be optional and internal assessments be the basis of qualification,” she said, adding that the university offered to hold her seat till the situation eased.

Shantanu Sharma from Amity International School too had a similar problem. He has been accepted at a university in Netherlands for anautomotive engineering course. “The academic year is set to start in September and if boards are held from July to August, as the CBSE suggested, we hope to get the results before deadline (CBSE plan is to give results in September),” he said.

Foreign universities and colleges accept students based on letter of recommendations from the school with the condition that they present their final exam results before the start of the academic session.

“As international universities operate on standard timelines, interested students are concerned about the admission process,” Rajiv Bansal, director of operations of Global Indian International School.

Some are also changing plans and looking at applying to private universities. “I aimed to get a seat at one of the National Law Universities in India or pursue Economics in Delhi University. But now I feel I need another option as well so I am also appearing for entrances of private law universities,” said Kanishk Srinivas, a sector 62 resident and student of DPS Noida.

Most kids are 17, give them vaccine: Parents

Some parents assume that since most Class 12 students were just a year away from being eligible for the vaccinations, it would be safe to vaccinate them.

Manoj Kataria, president of Gautam Buddh Nagar Parents’ Welfare Society said, “Holding board exams at such a distressful time could be harmful for the students’ well being. Moreover, parents are concerned for the well being of their children as well,” he said.

“These can become a super spreader event. Moreover, reports say that the third wave is going to affect children and we cannot take a chance,” said Preet Bhargava, a resident of Greater Noida West whose son is a student of Class 12.

However, experts said that demand for vaccination is not a solution.

“Union ministry of health has not given any directives for vaccination for children yet, hence we cannot comment on that. However, this is not a solution in the current scenario. Efforts should instead be made from the authorities as well as students and parents side to ensure that proper Covid protocols are followed when exams are held. Usually we see parents gather at exam centres when board exams are being held. Such a situation should be avoided at all costs,” said Dr NK Sharma, IMA President (Noida Chapter).

On Monday, New Delhi All India Institute of Medical Sciences director Dr Randeep Guleria said, “If we look at the data, and compare both the Covid-19 waves, children are usually protected as the numbers are fewer. Even if they get infection, the disease is usually mild.” He added that there was no proof that children would be more affected in the event of a third wave.