THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A whopping 14 lakh face masks are ready for distribution to students appearing for the remainder of the SSLCHigher Secondary Education (HSE) examinations as well as the invigilators and evaluators. The reusable two-layer masks to given free were made under the aegis of Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK) and National Service Scheme (NSS)- Kerala chapter as part of COVID safety protocol. A committee has been constituted to decide on the distribution of masks through district-level Block Resource Centres (BRC).
The SSLC and HSE examinations will be held from May 21-29. A P Kuttykrishnan, project director, SSK, said it is the collective effort of SSK and NSS volunteers plus that of Kudumabashree workers which aided the timely production of masks. “ The face masks are meant for SSLC, VHSE, HSE students and teachers. We got them made after taking a headcount of students and the teachers assigned examination duty. Local tailoring units stitched them according to the specifications,” he said.
Ensure sanitisation of classrooms: Edu dept
According to AP Kuttykrishnan, SSK is engaged in the process of making 50 lakh masks for students and teachers of government schools for the coming academic year. “The work has started and the entire set will be rolled out before the next academic year commences. We have got the nod from the government which will foot the entire cost,” he said.
The general education department has directed all school authorities to ensure sanitisation of classrooms and premises as the valuation of answer sheets of the examinations which had been held will begin on May 13. The cleaning operations will be carried out with the support of the local self-government. A videoconference meeting with representatives of teachers’ associations was chaired by K Jeevan Babu, director, general education, on Friday. The government plans to conduct examinations while adhering to social distancing norms and with enough safety precautions.