The decision to hold exams offline
has raised the hackles of parents. While teachers have tested positive the news
of a Class XII student from Curchorem testing positive has come as a huge
shock.
Gaurish Agni a parent from Panjim
said the decision of the Government to make the students answer offline exams /
physical exams was thoroughly shocking. He said “It comes at the cost of health
and safety of the students and their families. As a parent, I would never agree
to risk my child to such a thoughtless decision of the government. There can be
no good explanation for not having an Assembly Session citing Covid-19 on one
hand and exposing the children to the dreaded disease on the other. The
decision comes in the backdrop of teachers testing positive and classes being
suspended forthwith. The government is shirking away from its responsibility to
the people and answering the people by facing the Assembly which is a
constitutional requirement. The students are not only the present but also the
future of Goa so hopefully, a reasoned decision reviewing the current decision
should be taken immediately”. Taarini Parashar a student at
a school in Panjim said the Chief Minister’s decision seemed incomprehensible.
She felt it would definitely raise many eyebrows as to why such a decision was
taken. She said “When the classes are being conducted smoothly online, then why
is the exams are being conducted in an offline mode. If they are fate deciders
like NEET, we understand. But the annual exams could be successfully conducted
online itself. Being a student it does feel that our CM ‘is’ being a little
inconsiderate towards the future holders of the state. She went on to say the CM had
not restarted everything in the state and for that matter even the Assembly
sessions were not held, then why the hurry to conduct the annual
exams?
Taarini however added that one could
perhaps assume it was a well-thought decision, with sub-clauses to it. She
hoped he did not want to expose students to the pandemic when there are strong
speculations of a more lethal second wave coming. Christopher D’Souza a student felt
students would be at the highest risk of transmitting COVID-19 due to the large
numbers that would congregate in schools if they were to begin offline classes.
He said “In some schools, students barely follow rules and safety precautions,
and in a time like this, it is just not right. A better idea would be to only
begin offline classes as and when the case numbers decrease all over the
country and the vaccines are rolled out as well”. Sayeda Zainab Quadri a student was
adamant when she said “I don’t think there is a need to rush to conduct exams
now and worsen the situation. This one step could result in a massive rise in
cases since it will involve the faculty, students, and their families too.
Students also need to use public transport to commute and there is again a
higher risk of contracting the virus. If we’ve been patient for many months
might as well be patient for some more time. And the students have already been
adapted the online mode so there is no harm in answering one exam
online”. The worrying news that two teachers
had tested positive for Covid 19 did not go down well with members of the
faculty. Not willing to come on record a teacher at a school in Panjim said
“This news is very worrying and the government wants to start conducting exams
offline. Prudence is necessary but I suppose the government has other
compulsions. It is worrying. The government should not rush to resume exams
offline as the cases are still on the rise and can be very risky. We should
completely avoid such activities where people gather together and the virus can
spread and go for a second wave”, said a worried teacher. One can only hope better sense
prevails for the sake of the people of the state.
