Corona outbreak: Teachers allowed to take SSC, HSC papers home, evaluation to begin

The education department, late on Monday, announced that teachers can take the answer sheets home for evaluation. The answer sheets were stored in the respective

The education department, late on Monday, announced that teachers can take the answer sheets home for evaluation. The answer sheets were stored in the respective schools and junior colleges. “The government has appealed everyone to stay at home, and hence all teachers are at home,” said a teacher from an Andheri school.

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On Monday, the Mumbai divisional board announced the cancellation of all its sessions for moderators (who are responsible to cross-check papers evaluated by the examiners). “We have ensured that the papers were kept in safe places in schools or in the respective places,” said Sandeep Sangave, secretary, Mumbai divisional board.

Usually, teachers get answer sheets to evaluate within a day or two after the respective exam is over. They get eight to 10 days to complete their evaluation. While almost all evaluations for HSC exam get over by the end of March, those for SSC usually get over by the first week of April. Results for HSC exams are generally announced in May while those for SSC are out in June.

Meanwhile, the International Baccalaureate (IB) has cancelled its IBDP (Class 12 equivalent) exams which were scheduled to start from April 30. Students will be evaluated based on their course work.

MU seeks help from alumni

Amid the shutdown of educational institutes and universities across the world due to the Covid-19 outbreak, University of Mumbai has reached out to their alumni groups to help former students left without accommodation or other essentials.

In an email sent on Monday morning to all members, the alumni association said it hopes to help people across the globe. “Routine services have been disrupted worldwide and there is a pressing need of civil societies to come together to help those in need,” read the email. “This message is intended to help those struggling to find accommodation or require immediate assistance of any kind,” it further stated.

Those in need have been asked to send an email to the alumni association, who in turn will reach out to other alumni members staying near the person in need.

Students spread awareness

College students in the city have taken several measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and clear out misconceptions about it.

Students from several colleges affiliated to University of Mumbai (MU) have come together to combat fake news on social media.V

Volunteers of the National Service Scheme (NSS) have been conducting awareness drives in societies. In the past few days, NSS cadets from a Bandra college made phone calls and appealed to at least 3,000 families to follow safety measures and remain indoors.

“The situation is getting scarier, especially for the elderly, who are unsure about whom to believe. So we are providing them with data and information from official websites to prevent them from believing in fake news,” said an NSS coordinator.