E-Paper
Key to conducting exams during a pandemic is micro-planning: Shakuntala Kale
Shakuntala Kale, who retired from the post on December 31, about the planning and execution of the SSC and HSC examinations
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has declared the dates of Class 10 and 12 examinations. Manasi Deshpande spoke to former chairperson of Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE board) Shakuntala Kale, who retired from the post on December 31, about the planning and execution of the SSC and HSC examinations in Maharashtra and her experience in fulfilling the responsibilities during the pandemic.
MSBSHSE board has just completed the re-examinations of SSC and HSC. What are the board’s plans for the regular SSC and HSC examinations to be conducted this year?
It will depend on the situation as we move ahead this year. If the current condition (related to Covid-19 cases) continues then it will be possible to conduct exams in April-May. The board and its staff now have the experience of conducting exams during a pandemic, as we have successfully completed the re-examinations. We had set protocols for these exams - only 12 students in a block instead of 25 to ensure physical distancing, students were only allowed to take a pen and writing pad inside the examination hall, a mask was compulsory, thermal scanning was done at the entrance and all the examination centres were sanitized before the examinations. The board had provided financial aid to schools for this process. The key is micro-planning.
Has the board decided the format of the question papers?
If this situation persists then examination could be conducted in the routine format.
What difficulties did you face in preparing and declaring the results of examinations conducted in 2020? How was it overcome?
HSC examination was over before the lockdown and a SSC question paper was cancelled. But the challenge was to evaluate and then consolidate lakhs of answer sheets as there was transportation problem during the lockdown. We worked really hard to make this happen. When our evaluators, moderators could not reach us, the board reached out to them.
Since you took charge of this responsibility, what was the most challenging task you had to face?
As the head of this office, there are several responsibilities. Every year more than 17 lakh students appear for the SSC examination and more than 12 lakh students appear for HSC examination. It is a challenging task to conduct these examinations on schedule and declare the results on time. But in the last 55 years since the establishment of the board this year’s situation was unique. We never had to face such a challenge before. However, with the support of my team and everyone’s cooperation, we overcame the hurdles that came in our way.
