Syllabus complete, question papers printed, Himachal all set for exams

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 24

Himachal Government seems receptive to the option of the CBSE to hold examinations of students in the same school, curtail examination time to 90 minutes with multiple choice questions and short questions being a part of the question paper.

In a recent meeting with the CBSE, the state education Minister Govind Thakur conveyed that the state government is ready to conduct board examinations if the situation improves.

The education department is of the opinion that if the situation improves and the number of Covid cases goes down, then it may be possible to hold examinations after June 15.

The CBSE, which takes examinations of 115 subjects in Class XII had also suggested that only examinations of 19 major subjects of science, commerce and arts be held and rest of the papers can be marked accordingly as per the students’performance in these subjects.

The practical examination for Class XII in the state had been completed in March and the Himachal Board of School education had conducted the English Theory examination on April 13 before the state government decided to postpone the examinations in view of the surge in the Covid cases.

However, insiders say that the final decision by the government would be taken after the CBSE takes the call.

There are about 1.10 lakh students in Class XII in the state.

The syllabus is complete, practical examinations are already over, question papers are printed and have already been sent to 1795 examination centres, said Director Education Amarjeet Sharma adding that, “we are ready to hold examinations and would follow the directions of the state government in this regard”.

“Class XII is the career class after which the students choose their respective fields and colleges. Last year also several universities and colleges could not hold entrance tests due to Covid 19 pandemic and had admitted students on merit and our endeavor is to do justice with the students as well as their studies”, he added.

Meanwhile, as many as 1.16 lakh students of Class X have been promoted to Class XI without annual examination as per the CBSE guidelines and online classes for Class XI have already started in the state.