THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the Union Government, in its latest guidelines for Lockdown 4.0, directed that schools in the country should remain closed till May 31, the state is going ahead with the conduct of public examinations.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made it clear that there is no change in the SSLC, VHSE and HSE examinations which are scheduled to be held from May 26 to 30. The decision was taken in a high-level meeting led by him on the state's course of action based on the guidelines.
Earlier in the day, confusion prevailed with news reports that the examinations were postponed to June. However, sources said it was decided at the meeting between Pinarayi Vijayan and General Education Minister C Raveendranath not to postpone the examinations as the latter assured that the state is ready to conduct the examinations by accommodating students in the schools.
Pinarayi also asked schools to be prepared to welcome students for the examinations. He pointed out that the next academic year will begin from June 1 through online classes and Saturdays will also be working days.
Meanwhile, the school admission for Class I and the valuation of the completed SSLC examinations began on Monday. In schools, only parents were allowed for the admission process and they were given application forms to fill in and return.
According to the decision of the state government, the SSLC and VHSE examinations are scheduled to begin on May 26 while the Plus I and Plus II examinations will begin on May 27. The SSLC examinations are scheduled to end on May 28 while the HSE examinations will end on May 30 in two sessions. A detailed time table was also released last week.
The examination was earlier scheduled in March and it was rescheduled to start on May 26 as the state government announced relaxations in the lockdown.
The government has decided to conduct examinations adhering to social distancing norms and with enough safety precautions. Schools and classrooms are being cleaned and disinfected before the examinations start. In addition to sanitisation, the seating arrangements for the examinations will ensure a safe distance between students. As per the decision, only two students are allowed to sit on a single bench. The Samagra Shiksha Kerala has also made 14 lakh masks for the students and teachers in association with NSS volunteers of the schools.