New Delhi: Maharashtra education officials are finalizing a plan for the upcoming board exams which includes a proposal to postpone it due to rise in Covid-19 cases across the state. According to a source of Times Of India, different scenarios are being looked at and there’s a high probability of board exams getting postponed.
Varsha Gaikwad, Maharashtra’s education minister also did not deny the chances of postponement. She said, “I can’t say anything at this moment but, yes, a final decision will be taken this week itself. I will meet with various stakeholders and see what their views are about exams. Then we will have to seek the consent from chief minister’s office (CMO) as well regarding the final proposal.”
Gaikwad, who herself has a master’s degree in education, said, “We have to plan for contingencies. So ‘Plan A’ is basically what has been shared with everyone already. Here we have given sops like extra time, home centres, and guidelines on second attempt.”
Varsha also has ‘Plan B’ and ‘Plan C’ which talk about the steps to be taken if cases continue to rise. The minister said, “The rising number of Covid-19 cases is a major cause for concern. And we have to consider board exams of CBSE etc which will be held within the state’s jurisdiction. So we are finalizing Plan B and C to accommodate all these concerns. For this, views of domain experts are being taken and after that, a proposal shall be put up before the CMO.”
Academics section of the society are also supporting the move as the President of School Headmasters’ Charitable Association Zafar Khan said, “We urge the government to postpone the exams for at least a month and then take a further review based on the number of cases. I have been interacting with many parents and they all say that the risk to their child’s health will increase if exams are held.” He also said that many parents will think about using the option of ‘second attempt’ even if the exams are not postponed. “The state government has guaranteed a second attempt in June to any student who misses the exam.So parents will claim that their ward had fever on exam day and simply fill the form for the June attempt,” said Khan.
Minister Gaikwad will meet the officials on Tuesday to review the situation and an official statement is expected to come out by Friday.
