In a much awaited relief to students, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced that all Class 10 students who were to write their board exams from 15 June has been cancelled and will be promoted to Class 11.
He said that 80% of marks will be awarded based on their performance in the quarterly and half-yearly exams and 20% marks will be based on their attendance.
"Health experts and epidemiologists said the COVID-19 spread will not come down in near future. Considering the rising cases and demands from parents, Class 10 exams scheduled to start on 15 June and the remaining Class 11 exams were cancelled to protect the students from infection,” the chief minister said in a statement.
More than nine lakh students were scheduled to appear for exams. The state government has also cancelled the pending Class 11 exams. As for Class 12 students who were absent for certain exams, a date will be announced later.
Exams Postponed Thrice So Far
The Class 10 exams were first scheduled between 27 March to 13 April. However, following the nationwide lockdown since 24 March, exams were postponed. The School Education Minister had announced that the exams will be conducted between 1 June to 15 June, and then later pushed to 15 June to 25 June.
Several students and parents raised concerns stating this was a stressful time for the students who wouldn’t be able to give their best for the exams. Also considering the huge spike in cases recorded in the state and Chennai everyday for the past few weeks, they said this would put the lives of children at risk of contracting coronavirus.
Many took to social media to condemn the state.
‘This Puts Lives of Students at Stake:’ HC
The Tamil Nadu High and Higher Secondary School Graduate Teachers Association even filed a petition in the Madras High Court challenging the state’s decision to conduct the exams.
The petition stated that the government has identified 12,548 schools for holding board exams but as per order if 10 students should be seated in a class, for 9.79 lakh students the state requires 97,000 classrooms, reported The News Minute.
Advocate General Vijay Narayan representing the state government had told that according to expert opinions COVID-19 cases might increase up to two lakh in the coming days and thus, ‘this is the right time to conduct the exams’.
The court had stated, “We cannot allow the state to put lives of more than nine lakh students at stake. This is not like opening TASMAC (liquor) shops during lockdown.” The court had given the state time till 11 June to inform its stand.
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