Not safe to hold exams, but exercising caution crucial

Open House: Is it safe to take pending examinations and entrance tests?

Lives matter more than exams

Owing to the surge in Covid cases, it will not be prudent to conduct the exams and put their lives in danger. Though wearing masks, using sanitisers and maintaining social distance should be made mandatory, there would be chaos and bedlam all around. Otherwise also, youngsters and the elderly are more vulnerable and susceptible to Covid infection. Students are already under mental stress and some have committed suicide. Precious lives of children and young adults are more important than exams. Exams can be postponed or even cancelled. Students can be promoted on the basis of internal assessment and previous tests. Similarly, the entrance tests of schools and colleges can be postponed or even cancelled to be put to the next session.

Dr JS Wadhwa

Don’t postpone exams, kids already burnt out

The exams should not be postponed as students are already burnt out. They are studying for more than two months now at a stretch. There is no point in postponing the exams, as it will lead to further problems for students. Covid is here to stay, so exams should be conducted by taking all precautions such as wearing masks, using sanitisers and observing social distancing. It’s good that the number of centres is being sought to be doubled to maintain social distancing. Parents are overwhelmed by the growing number of Covid patients and the death toll. This is the reason they don’t want their children to take the exam. The government should project only current active cases and deaths, and not the total cases in media.

Saahil Hans

Students already late to take exams

The examination authority should conduct exams because students are already too late to take the exams due to Covid. One can’t ignore exams, as it is vital from all perspectives. Most of the parents and students are expecting that the universities should pass students of final semester without taking any exam. If the exams are not conducted then how will we come to know whether a student is capable or not? College and universities should be responsible for ensuring physical distancing norms. Students should carry their own sanitiser bottles and cover their face with mask. The government has requested the universities to ensure proper cleanliness at all exam centres with all hygiene protocols during exams.

Shailja Thakur

Allow exams to be conducted online

There was a swift shoot in the number of Covid-19 positive cases on June 21 alone enumerating 217 in Punjab and 3,000 fresh cases in New Delhi. Speculations of the World Health Organisation (WHO), hint at the months of October-November, 2020, to see the highest surge in the number of cases and mass deaths. When such a rise of positive cases is speculated, schools and colleges must not conduct physical entrance exams and pending examinations for intermediate students. This should be done to ensure safety of the younger generation as students act recklessly negligent, when not under able guidance of parents in such institutions. However, it is recommended to conduct online exams, keeping in view the norms laid down by the state on social distancing. Online exams help students to take tests via online platforms such as “Mettl”, from the comfort of their homes. Such platforms are created and especially tailored to facilitate the same with an option of typing and alternatively by first writing and then scanning to upload the same. There is also a facility of proctoring to ensure minimal chances of cheating or other malpractices during the course of exam. Hence, it provides the security of not contracting the disease and at the same time helps to maintain the academic rigour across schools and colleges. However, one concern is that funds are running dry in many schools and colleges, especially government institutions. Hence, the cost of such heavy infrastructure may not be affordable to many. The state government must initiate a Bill in the Parliament to request the allocation of funds in the education sector, under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, as there is no specific ministry for catering to the education sector.

Pahul Sond

Take exams amid precautions

Covid spread has posed many challenges to people worldwide. Unlock 1:0 has opened the vista of economic activity and now, the education sector should also be opened up in a graded manner to make for the loss of studies in the past few months. By now, even the students and young aspiring candidates are aware of the precautions to be taken to remain safe from the deadly virus. Exams are a uniform platform for the fair assessment of students. The tests should be conducted without any further delay, after ensuring all safety measures. This would help in saving a productive and crucial year of students . Any further delay in conducting these examinations would only give rise to stress and anxiety among the aspirants, which might further lead to frustration and depression among them.

Rupinder Kaur

Cannot compromise safety of students

The government must defer exams keeping in view how Covid-19 has been wreaking havoc to the nation. Amid sudden surge in cases across the nation, the move of asking students to take up exams is ill-conceived and is fraught with a life-threatening risk as the stringent compliance of regulatory norms and the principal of social distancing will not be meticulously followed by the students. Life and health of the students are more important than anything else in the world. Meanwhile, the option of conducting online examination can also be explored. Required preparation for this exercise will have to be made in advance as most of the students still lack the required technological facilities.

Shashi Kiran

Ensuring safety would be an uphill task

Despite a worrisome increase in Covid cases, the decision of the CBSE, the CICSE and several other boards to conduct pending board examinations for Classes X and XII and several entrance tests scheduled from July onwards is not just. Earlier, all educational institutions including schools, colleges, universities and premier IIT institutes were closed and the exams were postponed to contain the spread of virus. Distressed parents have expressed a great concern over the safety of their wards and educational facilities, the distressed parents launched an online campaign against these arbitrary notifications and filed a petition in the apex court for quashing them. There is no doubt that ensuring HRD ministry’s safety directives will be an uphill task, both on the part of the students and the authorities. Moreover, most buildings of these academic institutions are being used for various relief works for Covid-19. As there are remote chances of the contagion subsiding in the near future, several state governments have expressed their reluctance to hold the remaining exams. These academic boards should evolve some alternate grading system to evaluate the overall performance of students either on the average of previous exams or the practicals and an internal assessment, and also defer all competitive tests for professional courses.

D S Kang

Assess on the basis of past performance

Given the current situation, it is not advisable to hold pending academic examinations and entrance tests for admission to various professional institutions. The situation may be reviewed after a minimum of two months and in case there is a substantial improvement, the rest of the exams can be held under strict compliance of social distancing norms by the end of current year and the time lost may be compensated/ adjusted over the next two academic sessions. Another viable solution might be to assess them on the basis of average rating in the previous examination and scoring of in-house periodical tests. Holding examinations and entrance tests at this stage is fraught with unimaginable risks and will be devoid of natural justice.

Jagdish Chander

QUESTION

There has been a sudden surge in Covid cases across the country over the past few weeks and the state government has allowed buses to run at full seating capacity.

Do you think the decision is justified?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to jalandhardesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (July 2).