With the government announcing on March 22 that colleges would be shut down due to rising COVID-19 cases, school teachers are now asking if the government would consider conducting the board exams online. This is a bit of a volte-face as they have spent the longest of time telling the government that online classes are ineffective and exclusionary.
The Tamil Nadu Teachers Association has issued a statement asking the government if it can consider switching to the online mode for +2 or if it can allow schools to hold their own exams for the students. “Schools had reopened for students from Class 9-11 on January 19 because COVID cases had been decreasing, now with the cases spiking again, schools shut down. Yesterday, it was decided that colleges will also be shut down,” the Association pointed out.
The rising wave of COVID cases has left them worried. “Now students who are coming for +2 classes are already very worried about their health. So why should we worsen their situation with the additional burden of exams,” the TNTA President PK Ilamaran said.
The Association also said that parents were worried about the upcoming elections and that they are scared to be sending their children to class every day. “I ask the government to consider giving +2 students holidays and to discuss the possibility to hold the board exams online or to base scores on school-based tests,” he added.
