Board exams will be held in mid-July if Covid-19 TPR dips below 2%, says Assam CM
Sarma said that the exams are likely to be conducted between July 15 and July 20 with boys and girls appearing on different dates in order to ensure social distancing at exam centres.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday that the state government would conduct board exams for Class 10 and Class 12 in mid-July only if the Covid-19 positivity rate in the state drops below 2%.
The announcement came two days after the state’s education minister Ranoj Pegu said that the board exams for both classes were likely to be held in the first half of August by following Covid-19 safety measures.
“Most parents and student organizations in Assam are of the opinion that the board exams should be held. The education department will try and hold the exams in mid-July,” Sarma said in Guwahati.
“The questions papers are likely to be multiple-choice ones, allowing students to score good marks. The exams will be held following Covid-19 protocol provided the positivity rate drops below 2%. If it is above that, we will ask schools to evaluate the students,” he added.
Sarma said that the exams are likely to be conducted between July 15 and July 20 with boys and girls appearing on different dates in order to ensure social distancing at exam centres.
“We can’t put the lives of students at risk. The exact dates of the exam will be announced in the next few days, but it will come with a rider on the positivity rate. We will make an assessment on July 1, if the positivity rate doesn’t drop below 2%, we won’t put lives of students at risk and cancel the exams,” he said.
Assam is adding around 3,500 to 4,000 new Covid19 cases daily. The positivity rate, which stood at 9% a month ago, has dropped to around 3% at present. The state is witnessing nearly 40-50 Covid-19 deaths daily.