Students in Pangi, Bharmour take online exams atop hills

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chamba, December 9

The online examinations being conducted by the Education Department in government schools are proving to be a nightmare for students of the tribal areas of Chamba district.

Students living in far-flung areas, such as Bharmour and Pangi, have to climb hills and sit in the open to get a better signal on their mobile phones to appear in the online examinations.

Surjit Kumar, a resident of the Pangi valley, says that there is no telecom signal in many areas of the valley. The BSNL tower in the area has developed a snag while the towers of private telecom companies are yet to become operational. Generally, students often face signal issue, so they move to hilltop to take the online examinations.

Inquiries by The Tribune have revealed that the Education Department is conducting the interim examinations these days for the students of government schools to prepare them for the final examinations.

Sources say that the education board has suggested to the Education Department that the students of tribal areas be delivered the question papers on their doorstep. However, the suggestion did not elicit any response.

In Chamba, students living in Balod, Khundel, Kaned, Ghal, Tundah, Kugti and Bargram panchayats in the Bharmour and Pangi areas are taking examinations by climbing hilltops while sitting in the open. Area residents have also given a representation to Chamba Deputy Commissioner DC Rana in this regard.

Rana says that he will ask the Education Department to help the students of the tribal areas so that they are not forced to move to hilltops to take the online examinations.The restrictions on schools due to Covid have acted to the disadvantage of the students living in far-flung areas, who have not been able to attend online classes due to poor Internet connectivity in their region. The leaders of the Opposition have also demanded that the government makes special efforts for the students of the tribal areas so that they do not lose their academic year.