As SSLC and Higher Secondary exams are slated to be held later this month, there are demands from within a section of the academic community to postpone it to May on the lines of the CBSE and ICSE board exams. According to a source, an influential left-affiliated school teachers' association has apprised the government of the 'practical difficulties' in conducting the examination from March 17 to 30, citing the upcoming assembly election.
Teachers are being deployed for election-related duties and their training will also start after mid-March. Besides, the difficulty of students to prepare for the crucial examinations during the poll campaign frenzy needs to be taken into account, said a representative of the association. The demand of the Left-affiliated teachers' association is being actively considered by the General Education Department. We have received such a representation seeking postponement of the exams.
However, a final decision on the matter is yet to be taken, said a senior official. Meanwhile, Higher Secondary teachers' associations have come out against the move. Due to the peculiar situation this year, it was decided to identify focus areas from only 40% of the syllabus and conduct model exams on that basis. Therefore, seeking postponement of the exam at this juncture is illogical, said Anil M George of Higher Secondary School Teachers' Association. The summer season that may turn harsher towards April-May and fasting associated with the holy month of Ramzan from mid-April to mid-May is also pointed out as reasons against the postponement of the examinations. We have seen Covid cases surging after the local body election in December. A similar scenario can occur in April-May after the assembly election. Hence, conducting the exam as per the earlier schedule in March seems ideal as the Test Positivity Rate now is comparatively low, opined S Manoj of Aided Higher Secondary Teachers' Association.
