Covid-19 adds to stress: Students wear masks to SSC and CBSE board exams

Exams for the secondary school certificate (SSC) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) took place smoothly across centres on Wednesday. SSC students wrote

Exams for the secondary school certificate (SSC) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) took place smoothly across centres on Wednesday. SSC students wrote their Science 2 paper on Wednesday while CBSE students wrote their Social Science paper. The rest of the CBSE exam papers have been postponed till March 31.

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Several students were seen wearing masks as a precautionary measure against the spread of the coronavirus. Officials said the exams would held as per the existing schedule and would not be affected by the partial shutdown announced earlier this week.

Secretary of the Mumbai division and head of the state school education board Sandeep Sangave said centres were told to follow the health advisory regarding Covid-19 (caused by the coronavirus), which was issued by the government. “They [centres] were asked to ensure that there isn’t crowding in and around the exam centre. At the same time, we had told them to provide sanitisers and face masks where required,” Sangave said.

Over the past two days, helplines of the Mumbai divisional board, which also includes Thane, Raigad and Palghar, received numerous calls from parents who wanted to know if the exams had been postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak.

“We informed parents that the papers would take place as per the schedule and told them not to panic as we would be taking the necessary precautions,” said Muralidhar More, a counsellor manning the board’s official helpline.

Even at the ongoing meetings of moderators and chief moderators (whose job is to ensure that the paper assessments have taken place as per the marking scheme) are being conducted with all the precautions in place. “We cannot conduct these meetings online because the moderators have to talk to each other face to face while discussing the marking scheme,” said Sangave.

However we have made sure that they come and go in small groups and have also made sanitisers available in the board office, he added. “However, we have made sure that they come and go in small groups and have also made sanitisers available at the board office,” added Sangave. The last SSC exam will be held on March 23 and the CBSE board exams will end on March 20.

Student who was allowed to write exams from hospital misses Science paper

An SSC student from a Bandra school, who was allowed to write her paper from the hospital last week after she was admitted to Tata Cancer Hospital for cancer treatment, could not give her Science 2 exam on Wednesday. Board officials said that all arrangements had been made for the student, but she could not give the exam because her health deteoriated. “It is unfortunate that she could not give her exam today. We hope that she gets well soon,” said Sangave.