VIJAYAWADA: With fresh COVID-19 infections steadily declining in the State, the education department is planning to conduct Intermediate examinations in the first week of July and SSC exams in the last week. Education minister A Suresh said that a decision on the conduct of Intermediate and SSC exams will be taken after discussing the matter with Chief Minister on Thursday.
Speaking to the media, he said, "Second year Intermediate practical exams were already held in March. We are studying the possibilities of conducting the theory exams in the first week of July. The exam schedule will be finalised at the earliest as it is linked with Eamcet."
He underlined the need for conducting the SSC exams as the college managements consider it as a standard to provide admissions. If the Chief Minister gives his nod, the SSC exams will be conducted in July; evaluation of answer scripts will be done in August and results will be announced in September to help the students prepare for competitive exams.
Referring to online classes, the Education Minister said they gained prominence after the outbreak of Covid. Online teaching is also available for vocational courses. Teachers need to be trained in online teaching, he said.
The education department has also started an exercise to know whether children are understanding the subject through online classes or facing any difficulties. The Chief Minister recently directed officials to purchase high-end laptops for 10 lakh students under the Amma Vodi scheme, Suresh said.
Giving details of the survey conducted by the education department on online classes, he said that less than 0.2 per cent of students in the State have laptops and nearly 25 per cent of students said they do not have access even to TV. "The government has laid emphasis on strengthening school infrastructure to reduce the dropout rate," he said.
Commenting on the injustice meted out to DSC 2008 candidates, he alleged that the previous regime was indifferent to their genuine demands. The YSRC government had decided to appoint DSC 2008 candidates as secondary grade teachers.
Postings will be given to them soon, he informed. A delegation of 2008 DSC qualified candidates, which called on the Chief Minister at his camp office near Vijayawada, thanked Jagan for fulling his promise made during his Praja Sankalpa Yatra.