CHENNAI: Quarterly and half-yearly examinations for Class 10, 11 and 12 students will not be conducted this year, announced School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Tuesday. Nevertheless, the annual board examinations for these classes would be conducted in March-April next year. "To prepare the students for the board exams, the State government is contemplating to conduct an integrated examination in December," he said.
He further said after thorough discussions, an announcement will be made in details about the integrated exam. The announcement may have delighted the students, but many parents and teachers are not upbeat about the decision.
"Since last year, children have not appeared for any examination. This year also if they do not appear in the quarterly and half-yearly, and directly write the board examinations then it would definitely affect their performance," said S Anitha, parent of a Class 11 student studying in a private school. "If the students will not have to appear for half-yearly and quarterly examination then their attitude towards studies would become very callous," said T Tirupathi, a teacher.
Meanwhile, Poyyamozhi on Tuesday had discussions with district education officers and other officials of the School Education Department about the safety measures needed before opening schools from Class 1 to 8 on November 1. In the meeting, other school related problems were also discussed.
The minister said region-wise surprise inspections would be conducted to see if schools are following safety protocols. He said the department is prepared and will ensure a smooth conduct of classes. "Our officials are prepared because classes 9-12 are already going on. Initially, there were teething issues but we rectified them and now classes are being conducted smoothly," Poyyamozhi added.
He further said, "As schools are reopening after a long gap amid the pandemic, we don't know how long young children such as LKG or Class 1 students can wear masks in the classroom. Parents can wait outside the classroom and if they feel children are not comfortable wearing masks beyond a certain point they can take them back with them."