Docs Advise Caution As Students Under Stress

No consensus on Class XII exams

Docs Advise Caution As Students Under Stress

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:04.06.2021

Parents and students want the state board Class XII exams cancelled in line with the CBSE, while teachers want to hold them.

The state government has asked around 7,000 higher secondary schools to find out what parents and teachers think. The schools compiled the feedback and sent it to the directorate of school education on Thursday. The school education department will hold an online meeting of health experts, educationists and officials on Friday. It will submit a report to chief minister M K Stalin on Saturday on the issue.

C Thenmozhi, a parent from Kolathur, said students were under pressure due to the postponement of exams. "Health experts are also saying the third wave will affect the children. So, it is better if the exams are cancelled," she said.

K P O Suresh, state president of Tamil Nadu Post-Graduate Teachers Association, said the board exams are necessary for admission to higher education courses. "A majority of students do not have access to online classes. The question paper pattern should be more liberal," he said.

"In a survey among parents and students, only 25% of parents wanted the board exams. Parents say the life of a child is more important than exams," said Agnes Rita, principal of GRT Mahalakshmi Vidhyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Ashok Nagar.

"Due to uncertainty and long wait, a majority of parents and students were not in favour of board exams. The state government should have conducted some form of online assessment earlier," said B Purushothaman, senior principal of Everwin Group of Schools in Chennai.

Padmaja R, headmistress of Chennai Girls Higher Secondary School in Saidapet, said teachers and top rankers want exams. "But, a majority of students were not for exams citing mental exhaustion and tiredness. They were also not confident of writing the exams after facing just three months of offline classes. Some students only gave Covid-19 as a reason for not wanting exams," she said.

Parents from government schools also were not in favour of exams . "Of 600 students in our school, parents of above 400 students were not for exams," a headmaster of a government school in the city said.

"In our school 30% students and 100% teachers were in favour of conducting the exams. The state government should at least conduct an online assessment test to evaluate the students," said GJ Manohar, principal of MCC Higher Secondary School in Chetpet.

N Vijayan, senior principal of Zion Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Tambaram, said the state government should conduct the exams after the cases come down.

CATCH 22: One survey said only 1 in every 4 parents wanted the Class XII board exams to be conducted on schedule