Parents initiate Twitter campaign seeking cancellation of CISCE exams amid COVID-19 spread

With the total number of Covid-19 cases nearing the 3 lakh mark, the Council for the Indian School Certification Examination (CISCE) has announced that board examinations for the pending papers will be held in the first two weeks of July.

The Board had stopped all examinations with six papers still remaining for 10th standard students on March 19.

However, parents are befuddled by this stand of the Board which has raised a series of concerns for them.

United by a shared concern for their kids, four mothers got together and decided to get their voices heard. In less than a day, around 2,300 parents came together across the country to tweet about their anguish.

Fired by positivity to do something, they managed to tweet 30,000 times with the hashtags #studentslivesmatter and #Cancel10thICSEboards which trended between number 18 and 22 for almost an hour.

"In this time and age, can we not find a solution which does not affect the psychological and physical well-being of our kids," said two parents, Radhika Singh and Puneeta Chadha Khanna.

The worrisome thoughts in the parents' minds include -- "who will ensure the safety of our children"?

Parents are afraid that even one asymptomatic student or invigilator can infect all the students in the classroom. The viral load of being in the same room for four hours is very high.

The second concern is -- "how will the students who use public transport travel and what will happen if a student gets the infection before the exams"?

"Besides the logistical nightmares, what if the situation really worsens, the kids prepare again and then at the last minute the exams get cancelled. What will be the psychological impact on our children," the parents rued.

A petition has also been filed in the Bombay High Court by a parent, challenging the decision of the CISCE.