While welcoming the Chief Minister’s (also education minister) decision, the Leader of the Opposition Digambar Kamat urged that consultations with educationists be continued and appropriate action take on the HSSC examinations. “It is also important that proper plan of action is prepared for the next academic year for all levels after seeking advice of experts,” Kamat said.
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Sunday shared that the government was determined to take a decision at the earliest after it receives feedback from States by May 25. The meeting was inconclusive as many States had divergent views on the subject and states like Maharashtra and Delhi which are undergoing a massive surge in COVID cases were against the holding of 12th Board examinations while Chhattisgarh is inclined to hold the examinations.
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The online video conferencing meet was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh along with other senior Union cabinet ministers with Educations Ministers/Chief Minister of the States. Recently, there were demands among the students and the parents that 12th Board Exam 2021 should be cancelled keeping in view the COVID-19 condition in the country and most of the appearing students have not been vaccinated. The Union government has to take a call between the devil and the deep sea.
As per the reports, CBSE had put forward two options to the panel in regard to conducting the Class 12th Board examinations. The board has proposed conducting exams for only major subjects. Another option was for an objective type questions of 90 minute duration has been proposed. Feedback on these two options have been sought by the Union from the States by May 25.
Covid is currently raging in the country and administering vaccinations to the large populace seems to be India’s biggest challenge right now. Many states urged the central government to open up vaccines for students aged 15 and above and also to ensure all those teachers and invigilators and the staff would be present at the examination centre must be vaccinated just like vaccines have been available to the young and the vulnerable sections including students in countries like the United States of America.
In India so far, there are plans of the Union Health Ministry to include 15 years and above population to be given vaccination. The latest age group opened has been from 18-45 and many in this age group are still waiting to get their slots confirmed for their first jab. Yes, the task to get the doses for all in a large population of India is massive and pressure is mounting on manufacturers of the vaccine to deliver more and quickly. According to the Union government about 20 crore of the 130 crore persons in the country have been vaccinated. It is an uphill task. Even to schedule vaccination and define the urgent needs of a particular age bracket is becoming a real challenge for the government.
Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia was categorical that about ten states in India have agreed that students should be vaccinated before they appear for examinations. This includes students willing to appear for major public entrance exams such as JEE Main for engineering and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medicine. “The country’s 1.5 crore students and 1.5 crore teachers should all be vaccinated first and there are three crore people who must all be vaccinated first,” Sisodia informed media.
Some states including Tamil Nadu were willing to hold written exams as per either of the two options as and when the situation is conducive, many other states including Maharashtra and Delhi are against holding exams and suggesting that students should be assessed on internal performance. Some states also demand to give students options of appearing for exams at a later stage and declaring it a zero exam year. There is a lack of consensus among states but a decision from the Union government is expected soon. The issue is a quagmire and arriving at any decision will not be easy for any government. All governments whether States or Union have to set aside their political backdrop and have to come together and solve this issue with consensus for the betterment of the hapless students.
