NEW DELHI: Conducting class XII board exams before vaccinating the students can be a big mistake, said Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in a high-level meeting called by the Union ministry of education on Sunday.
Sisodia made the suggestions in the meeting attended by education ministers of all the states and UTs. The meeting was held to discuss the modalities for conducting Class XII CBSE board exams. "Families across the nation have suffered immense pain and trauma. Conducting exams when the world is preparing for the third wave is irresponsible. At a time when there are around 2.5 lakh daily cases in our country, students and teachers won’t be in a good mental state for the exams," he said.
He further said if vaccination is not possible, the Centre should initiate "no-exam policy" and award grades to students on the basis of their unit tests, pre-board exams and practical exams, similar to the 10th grade’s promotional policy. "Students should also be given a choice to re-take exams for improvement, in case they are not satisfied with their results," he said.
"In such a time of crisis, the Centre should speak with Pfizer, as it has already developed vaccines for children in the 12+ category, and acquire these vaccines for the 1.4 crore students who are currently studying in Class XII. Only after procuring vaccines and vaccinating all students, the Centre should think about conducting any kind of exam," said Sisodia.
He further suggested the centre to speak to health experts and enquire whether the vaccines given to the 18+ age group can be administered to students in Class XII, as 95 per cent of these students are approximately 17.5 years old.