VIJAYAWADA: In view of prolonged delay in reopening of schools due to Covid-19, the Education Department is planning to reduce the number of examination papers for Class X students this academic year. SSC exams for the academic year 2019-20 were not held due to Covid. All the students were passed by the Board of Secondary Education.
Apart from reducing the number of exam papers to six, the department is also contemplating extending the exam time by half-an-hour. “The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) suggested the conduct of exams for only six papers for the 2019-20 batch in view of the pandemic.
Exams, however, were not held for the students last academic year. Keeping in view the current situation, we are planning to implement the NCERT suggestion for the conduct of exams this academic year,” Minister for Education Audimulapu Suresh told TNIE. Due to the lockdown, the academic year commenced in August and classes only began in online mode.
‘Majority of students are still attending online classes’
Doubt clearing sessions for students commenced in September and regular classes in November. “Majority of students are still attending online classes despite reopening of schools. There are many students belonging to the no-tech category, who have not received proper teaching.
For the no-tech category students, who are lagging behind in studies, it may be difficult to face the exam in the old timing pattern,” said Suresh. A meeting with the officials of School Education Department, State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCE RT) and Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan will be held next week to discuss the proposal.
“We will brainstorm on whether to conduct subjective (regular pattern) or objective type exams,” he said. A decision on the pattern of SSC exams is likely to be taken after the meeting next week. Meanwhile, SSC students have expressed different views on the move. While some students want the exam to be in objective mode, others seek the conduct of exams in regular pattern with extra time.
“If we take the exams in objective mode, we will not get due recognition when we go to college. Instead, it is better to write the exams in subjective mode so that the admission process will be the same for us and we will get equal respect. We should not be considered as advantaged lot because of Covid-19 as we are studying hard,” said K Shripada, a Class X student. However, parents opine that SSC students should be given some advantage this academic year also.