BHUBANESWAR: The decision of Union Education Ministry to scrap CBSE Class X board examination and postpone Class XII test has evoked mixed response in the State.The decision brought cheers to the faces of thousands of Class X students, while it left some of the Class XII students worried as they said the longer the exam dates are stretched the more mental stress they will be forced to bear. Besides, it may affect their preparations for other exams, students said.
“As the second wave of Covid-19 appears to be more concerning and situation continues to remain grim, cancellation of the exams was a necessity. If students had been allowed to appear the exams on the given date, when the spread of infection is assumed to be at its peak, it would have led to more cases of Covid infection,” said Jatin Maharana, a Kendriya Vidyalaya student from Bhawanipatna.
Lolly Rimil Murmu, a Class XII science student from KIIT International School, said though the postponing of the 12th exams has given two more months to the students to study and make up for their slacking off during online classes, the extension might cause mental exhaustion in majority. “The longer it carries on, more mental stress students have to undergo,” Lolly pointed out. Shivangi Vikas Mishra, a student from SAI International School, said the postponement might take a heavy toll on the students appearing for entrance tests such as CLAT, SLAT, AILET, JEE advance and NEET as the boards dates may clash with these examinations.
Academicians, on the other hand, said the cancellation of Class X test and postponing of Plus II exams is a positive move in view of the prevailing pandemic situation. “Some might get disheartened with the decision after preparing for their exams for over a year, they must keep in mind that the government has kept the option of conducting the exams on a later date once the situation improves,” said chairperson of KIIT International School Mona Lisa Bal.
Odisha yet to take a call on HSC, Plus II tests
Bhubaneswar: Even as the second wave of Covid-19 forced the Centre on Wednesday to cancel the CBSE board Class X exams and postpone Class XII, the Odisha government is yet to take a call on Class 10 and Plus II to be conducted by the State. The High School Certificate (HSC) and Plus II exams are scheduled to start from May 3 and May 18 respectively. School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash said no decision has yet been taken to either cancel or postpone the exams as the government has been dealing with the pandemic effectively. He added that all preventive measures are being taken for safety of students on the campuses. The HSC exams will be conducted from May 3 to May 15. Around 6.5 lakh students will appear for the exams. Likewise, the Plus II final year exams will commence from May 18 and continue till June 12 which would be attended by 3.5 lakh students.