Holding exams not feasible: Sisodia

Holding exams not feasible: Sisodia

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:  18.06.2020

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia wrote to Union minister of human resource development Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, asking him to cancel the remaining CBSE classes X and XII board exams. This is the second time that Sisodia has made the request.

In a letter written to Pokhriyal on Wednesday, the education minister explained how it would be impossible for government schools to hold exams as they are being used for several purposes to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.

The deputy CM’s letter comes at a time when a PIL has been filed in Supreme Court by parents demanding cancellation of board exams. On Wednesday, the court sought a response from the Central Board of Secondary Education on the issue.

“I hope you agree with me that board exams, especially Class XII, are a high-stake exam for children. Hence, subjecting them to appear in such an uncertain and anxiety prone situation would not be fair to the students,” Sisodia said.

The Delhi education minister highlighted that by July 31, the number of Covid-19 cases was likely to touch 5.5 lakh. “In such a situation, if a candidate or a family member tests positive, he or she will have to skip the exams causing further stress. Though as per current plan of CBSE, a school in a red zone would not be used as a centre. But there is no clarity on how a child from a containment zone would come out to appear for the exam,” Sisodia claimed.

In case of government schools, around 250 of them are currently being used as ration distribution centres, 33 schools have become hunger relief centres, 39 are acting as shelter homes, while 10 have been turned into transit migrant camps.

“These schools would not be in a position to conduct exams from July 1. Delhi government is also planning to use auditoriums in nearly 242 schools to set up as additional beds,” he said.

Manish Sisodia