E-Paper
Uttarakhand mulls cancelling final exams of class 9 and 11 in govt school
Uttarakhand government says the private schools in the state can decide on their own whether to conduct the final exams or not.
Uttarakhand education department is mulling cancelling the final exams of class 9 and 11, in government schools, as studies were affected this year due to Covid-19 epidemic.
R Meenakshi Sundaram, the secretary for school education in the state said the department is reviewing the progress of online studies in the state and a decision will be taken depending on the outcomes.
“Proper studies of both class 9 and 11 were affected this year due to Covid-19 pandemic. Online mode of education could not be conducted properly for all the students given the topography of the state and constraints due to that. It would be unfair to the students to test them without teaching them the whole syllabus. We have not taken any final decision yet but the options are being considered,” said Sundaram.
He added that private schools can decide on their own whether to conduct the final exams or not.
Strictly following the guidelines and norms to prevent the spread of Covid-19, schools in Uttarakhand opened after a gap of over seven months on November 2 for students of class 10 and 12. Schools were re-opened for students of class 10 and class 12 as they have to appear for board examinations.
After the reopening of schools, over 85 teachers tested positive for Covid-19 in the first week itself. Over 80 teachers tested positive in just four blocks of Pauri Garhwal district.
In the third week of October, the Uttarakhand government had allowed and issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) to be followed after the reopening of schools. According to the SOP, the school managements were asked to follow conditions like daily sanitisation of school premises before and after classes, arrangements for sanitisers, handwash, thermal screening and first aid among others.
