MONDAY, MAY 06, 2024
Technology is playing a major role across spheres in the current COVID-19 generated crisis that has gripped the world. Not only have governments and businesses managed to ensure that some work is carried on via the internet and their own networks, by their staff from home where they are due to the lockdown, but schools and educational institutions are also beginning to do the same and homes are turning into virtual offices and classrooms. One would show no surprise to learn that private educational institutions of higher education and professional course colleges have been sending their students, who are now home, assignments and are even conducting lectures online, but when schools and even government institutions take such steps, then it shows the seriousness of the educational institutions in ensuring that students use their time gainfully.
Goa is not far behind in this, and some schools in the State, especially those that have apps which parents have downloaded on their devices, have been sending homework to their students. This includes students in the primary section and not just those in the higher classes. But the big surprise, and a pleasant one at that, was when the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education began mock online tests for SSC students. The very crucial SSC board exams – the first public exam that students take – were to have started last week, but the lockdown forced their postponement. The lockdown ends next week, and the dates of the recheduled exams will be announced giving students a 10-day notice to prepare themselves. In the meantime, to keep the students’ minds on their studies and prepare them, the board has started the mock online tests and subject-wise classes.
The SSC exams are an important milestone in a student’s life. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential that all those appearing for the exam keep safe at home, but should simultaneously keep their minds alert. It is not easy for a young teenager who has planned the studies and revision with a particular date in mind, to suddenly find that the exams have been postponed with no certainty of when they will be held. This interruption in the preparation for the exam can upset a student, which can impact the performance at the exam. The mock tests and online classes should help keep the students focussed on their studies and prepare them for the board exam.
Educational institutions were the first to close in the State, even before there was any real possibility of a lockdown in the State. The Class XII exams, however, continued until the shutdown became a reality. Students in Goa, therefore, have been home since the middle of March and most schools were unable to even conduct the final exams. As a result, Class IX and Class XI students are being promoted to the next class based on their average performance during the year, with a chance of a supplementary being given to students who fail. It does appear to be a fair deal, but for students who are competitive in nature, such an arrangement may not be ideal.
It is as they reach Class VIII that students begin to understand just how much they have to prepare to get to the colleges of their choice. For that matter, the Class XII exams are not over yet, with some students having just one paper left to answer. For them, however, the ordeal of exams is not over, as those who are looking at professional courses will have to answer the entrance exams. In the current situation the dates of these exams are now uncertain. While the government can look at mock online tests for these students too, it is the parents who will have the major task of keeping their wards focussed on their plans.
