The logistics seem daunting. Hundreds of thousands of students appearing for a test, the need to make sure social distancing norms are observed in these days of the coronavirus disease and students and invigilators get safely to the examination centres. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) thinks it can pull it off.
All students and the invigilators will wear face masks and carry hand sanitizers when Class XII board examinations are held from July 1 to 15 for an estimated 1.2 million students . No more than a dozen students will sit in an examination hall. In addition, in north-east Delhi, Class X exams are scheduled for students where because of communal violence in February, some had to be postponed.
“It is a challenging task to conduct an exam of such a vast proportions when the country is still facing the pandemic but we feel it is doable because the previous exams in March were also conducted at a time when the onslaught of the disease was being felt and accordingly modifications made. We believe learning from that experience, we will be able to put a detailed safety mechanism in place,” said an official who didn’t want to be named.
The maximum number of candidates who will be appearing for a test on a single day will not exceed 400,000 he said. And in March, the CBSE conducted exams where up to 1.95 million lakh sat for a test on a single day.
{{/usCountry}}The maximum number of candidates who will be appearing for a test on a single day will not exceed 400,000 he said. And in March, the CBSE conducted exams where up to 1.95 million lakh sat for a test on a single day.
{{/usCountry}}“Even in that test we tried to ensure there are not more than 12 students in one room. Therefore, it will not be difficult to ensure there are not more than 12 students in one room to take care of the social distancing aspect,” said a second official.
The maximum number of students -- at least 350,000 -- will appear for the business studies exam for class 12. The Hindi exam will see around 300,000 candidates taking the test, Geography has over 100,000, home science around 60,000 and sociology some 50,000 candidates.
“There is still time and we will accordingly plan and bring suitable norms. However, there will be proper social distancing and precautions when the exams are conducted,” said the second official.