UP Board students reporting at their examination centres for practical exams to be held between February 3 and 22 will witness unprecedented steps aimed at keeping them safe from the pandemic.
Each student and teacher will have to undergo mandatory thermal scanning aimed at ensuring their body temperatures are within acceptable limits to gain entrance to labs.
The laboratories along with all equipment and gadgets where the students will take their practical exams would also be properly sanitised each day to ensure safety of teachers and students alike, say board officials citing the set guidelines.
As per the guidelines sent by UP Board secretary Divya Kant Shukla to all divisional joint directors (secondary education) and district inspectors of schools (DIoSs) on January 21, all labs and toilets would also have hand sanitisers and handwash for students and teachers and all would be granted access to the labs only after properly sanitising their hands, they added.
“The officials have also been asked to keep a close watch on all students, teachers and staff and if anyone is found with symptoms associated with Covid-19 infection like fever, cough and sneezing, they have been asked to get in touch with chief medical officer concerned to ensure proper check-up, treatment and care,” said Shukla.
{{/usCountry}}“The officials have also been asked to keep a close watch on all students, teachers and staff and if anyone is found with symptoms associated with Covid-19 infection like fever, cough and sneezing, they have been asked to get in touch with chief medical officer concerned to ensure proper check-up, treatment and care,” said Shukla.
{{/usCountry}}Other precautions like maintaining social distancing during the practical exams and seating them at a minimum distance of 6 feet from one another and allowing students to leave after the exams in batches have also been recommended.
“The officials have been asked to explore and encourage use of separate entry and exit points if possible,” he added. The guidelines also ask officials to ensure proper sanitisation of school buses and other modes of shared transport if they are used by the students.
“Facemasks would also be a must for all and each school conducting practical exams has been asked to keep extra facemasks to provide to any students, teacher or staff who comes to the centre without it,” said the UP Board secretary.
As an added measure, the schools have also been asked to ensure that the practical exams are conducted under close scrutiny of CCTV cameras and principals have been asked to keep the recording safe for future reference. The principals have also been asked to prepare a video clip of the practical exams as well which they will have to provide to UP Board when asked.