SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: Several students of Class X and XII protesting outside the official residence of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant demanding to postpone Class X and XII exams were detained by Goa Police, on Monday.
The students, backed by political parties such as Congress Party and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), began their protest in front of the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Porvorim, demanding to postpone the decision to hold offline examinations of Class X and Class XII.
They contended that for the academic year X and XII classes were conducted online and demanded that the exams be also conducted online or be postponed in the light of surge in COVID-19 cases in the State.
Around 30-40 students were however released soon thereafter.
Meanwhile, students also staged a protest before Mormugao municipality building holding placards demanding postponing of Goa Board examinations.
Opposition Leader Digambar Kamat took to social media demanding unconditional release of students with immediate effect. He stated that students are expressing concern over risking life to COVID-19 as government wants to still go ahead with offline SSC and HSSC exams. Making this demand, he said, is not a crime and sought detained students’ immediate release.
Students’ wing of both the political parties extended their support to the demand made by students.
The HSSC exams are scheduled from this week even as students have been protesting across Goa to postpone or hold it online due to spike on COVID-19 infected cases.
Meanwhile, students led by AAP Youth Wing leaders Nikhil Haldankar and Ritesh Shennai visited the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education at Porvorim, to submit a memorandum. AAP leader Cecile Rodrigues was also present.
However, Goa Board chairman Bhagirath Shetye was not present in the office and when the students called up the designated number for an appointment it was not answered as there was nobody attending to that phone which was ringing in the adjacent room. The students then submitted their memorandum to the office of the chairman and decided to call on the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and hence proceeded to the Chief Minister’s residence.
Meanwhile, AAP has launched a phone number to get the feedback of students answering the Goa Board exams and their parents, regarding the issue of Board examinations being conducted while COVID-19 cases continue to surge steeply across the State.
The AAP said they had received thousands of responses from parents and students seeking postponement of the examinations particularly since the CBSE, CISCE had postponed their exams all over India and neighbouring Maharashtra too had postponed their exams.
