THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The online model examinations being organised by the district committees of Kerala School Teachers Association (KSTA) for SSLC and higher secondary students turned out to be a success. Thanks to the huge participation of students in the state. The model examinations are being conducted on separate days in various districts. The association decided to conduct the online examination to ensure the students are well-prepared for the examinations and have revised the subjects which are going to be held after the lockdown.

According to sources close to the General Education Department, the SSLC and higher secondary examinations are likely to begin soon after the lockdown. The examinations are being conducted by giving a link of ‘Google Forms’ app to the students by the teachers of respective schools. The links are being shared to the students through a WhatsApp group created by teachers in all government schools for the students who want to prepare and revise the subjects before appearing for the main exams.

Earlier, the teachers of each school had formed a WhatsApp group comprising the parents of the students as the members. The group was formed for better coordination between teachers and students during the lockdown period. So far, over 1 lakh students have participated in the examination in which each subject has 20 questions.

The questions are of objective type and the results will be available at 5 pm daily. The evaluation can be done by the students itself so as to self-evaluate themselves before attending the offline examinations. According to Vidya P Nair, a Class XII student of a government school in the capital, the online examination has helped the students to overcome the fears of the examination and it will also ensure a self-assessment before revising the subjects.

“I thank our teachers as this is quite helpful for all students to take note of the important points. The online examination will also help us memorise the subjects well rather than reading the textbooks,” she said. “The examination was mooted to boost the confidence of students before appearing for the examinations. Many students might have lost touch with the subjects due to the big gap caused due to the lockdown. Their study flow must not be disrupted.

So we have decided to begin this programme so that the students get their study flow back”, said T K A Shafi, vicepresident, KSTA. In some districts, including Kozhikode and Kasaragod, online examinations have already been completed. KSTA conducts the examination in such a way that all the examinations will end by April 30.