PUNE As Covid cases across Maharashtra see a consistent spike, state education minister Varsha Gaikwad, on Monday, said that board exams for Class 10 and Class 12 are postponed to June and May, respectively.
Experts believe students may suffer academically as the exams are delayed.
The decision for Classes 1 to 9 and Class 11 was taken earlier this month. All students will be promoted without exams. However, students of Class 10 and Class 12 will be undergoing their final examinations offline, as per the education minister.
The revised dates of the same will be declared soon, said Gaikwad.
Speaking on the academic loss of students, Dinesh Gupta, a teacher, said the planning of many students have been disturbed now.
“If the exams happened, the students could start focusing on competitive exams. Now they will be revising again the same syllabus. However, this is a good opportunity for students who could not clarify their doubts due to online teaching. Students will be under pressure. They will miss out their vacation time of May and June,” said Gupta.
He added that due to the delay in exams, the next academic year will be shorter.
{{/usCountry}}He added that due to the delay in exams, the next academic year will be shorter.
{{/usCountry}}“First year of graduation, or Class 11, for many will be short. There is a chance that students suffer through academic losses in this time,” said Gupta.
Anubha Sahai, president of the India-wide Parents Association (IWPA), said that the government should go for an internal assessment, as the situation is unpredictable.
“Postponement of the final board exams will not help students and parents, as they are under a lot of stress. Let there be internally assessed grades like other countries are doing. Central government should also intervene and come up with a uniform decision for all students,” said Sahai.
Manoj Tangadpalliwar, a city-based parent, said that postponing the exam will affect morale.
“My child has given two attempts at the JEE exams, but I will not risk the life of the kid by sending him for a JEE attempt again. The same is for Class 12 offline exams. With the increase in cases of Covid, we were discussing that my child should take a break this year and attempt the Class 12 exam next year. Offline exams this time are not feasible at all. The exams should be online exams or be cancelled entirely,” said Tangadpalliwar.
Sampada Waghmare, a student of Class 12, said that it is a good decision to postpone the exams, but they may clash with other competitive examinations.
“As the regular exams are now postponed, I can focus on competitive exams for a while. However, I hope the exams are conducted in May as per the schedule. Otherwise they may clash with other exams and cause more confusion,” said Waghmare.